New West Ham United head coach Graham Potter has suffered a serious injury as Niclas Fullkrug faces up to three months on the sidelines.
The 31-year-old striker went down clutching his hamstring during Friday night’s 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa in the third round FA Cup and left the field in obvious discomfort.
Fullkrug eventually had to be helped down the tunnel by West Ham’s medical team, with Potter and the club’s fans left sweating at the scale of the problem.
Potter, appointed to Replacement for Julen Lopetegui on Thursday, he told reporters after the game: “I guess it’s a pretty bad hamstring injury when you pull out like that so it’s a concern for us.”
Sky Sport Germany a report that a scan carried out on Saturday showed Potter had every right to be scared, with Fullkrug set for a lengthy layoff – the second time he has been injured for a significant period of time after picking up an Achilles tendon problem while on international duty with Germany in September .
West Ham may now be forced to dive into the transfer market as they are already missing captain Jarrod Bowen, who broke his foot during the recent Defeat 5-0 against Liverpooland Michail Antonio, who is recovering from multiple injuries – including a broken leg – sustained in a life-threatening car accident just before Christmas.
32-year-old Danny Ings could be called into the squad as a short-term measure, but his record of four goals in 47 Premier League appearances for West Ham he was unlikely to convince Potter that he was the answer going forward.
Mohammed Kudus could also be deployed centrally in a false nine role, although West Ham could look to keep him on the wing if Crysencia Summerville’s complaint in Friday’s defeat proves to be significant.
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