Insider ExWHUemployee believes that Kurt Zouma could be back in action come the end of January.
The centre-back had to undergo minor surgery last month to rectify an ongoing knee issue.
Zouma has started in all but one of the club’s Premier League games this season, playing every minute when available, before being forced off after a quarter of an hour in the final game prior to the World Cup break against Leicester City.
David Moyes would then confirm that a persistent knee problem had flared up prior to kick-off.
Injury specialist Ben Dinnery estimated that the 28-year-old could be out for up to four months following surgery, but Ex has eased those fears.
Speaking on The West Ham Way podcast, he said: “Zouma is unknown.
“Zouma, as I reported before, came into training, they thought he might be able to recover naturally with his knee, and then after doing a bit of work on the fitness side of things with the physios and so on, it was decided that there was stuff in his knee that needed cleaning up, so they gave him a minor operation to clean up the knee.
“He is walking on it without braces and stuff, but he hasn’t been able to do physical training as yet, so the comeback date for him is unknown.
“But I would imagine from what I’ve heard [that] January games, sort of middle towards the end, he might be targeting.”
TIF Thoughts on Ex’s comments…
Are you glad Kurt Zouma has had this operation to try and fix his knee issues?
Yes
No
After seeing Nayef Aguerd pull out of Morocco’s quarter-final with Portugal last weekend, this verdict will come as a welcome reprieve for Irons fans.
Described as a ‘beast at the back’ by journalist Ben Grounds, Zouma has been one of the club’s top performers this season.
According to WhoScored, he is averaging a match rating of 6.65, which ranks second among defenders at the London Stadium, and it will be interesting to see if he is indeed on course for a swift return.