Tomas Soucek has told Gol that his West Ham United teammate Vladimir Coufal is injury free and will not need long to get back up to speed after a short spell on the sidelines.
Coufal made his Premier League return for David Moyes’ side as a stoppage-time substitute at Aston Villa on Sunday. The right-back also enjoyed a brief cameo from the bench against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup last Wednesday following his minor groin problem.
The Hammers eliminated the Citizens from the cup on penalties, before beating Villa 4-1 to stay fourth in the table. They are now unbeaten over four fixtures across all competitions ahead of visiting Genk in the Europa League on Thursday.
Moyes could hand Coufal his first start since October 3 when West Ham travel to Genk. He is yet to play in the group stage and has only featured among the substitutes once. Taking a seat on the bench for the Irons’ 2-0 win at Dinamo Zagreb with Ryan Fredericks starting.
Soucek makes Coufal injury claim
But Moyes may elect to test Coufal’s fitness in the Europa League, with Soucek claiming his £124k-a-month West Ham teammate is injury free. The Hammers follow their visit to the Cegeka Arena by hosting Liverpool at the London Stadium on Sunday.
“Cuf played his first match after an injury against [Manchester City], he ran for the last eight-minutes,” Soucek said. “He seems to be fine, which is very important. It is very difficult for any player when he cannot get on and help the team.
“I’m also glad that he came back, and I believe that he will get back to his former form in a few days. Fortunately, his injury was not long enough to affect him physically or in his head. He is also ready to play for West Ham and the Czech national team.”
Should Moyes start Coufal in West Ham’s Europa League clash with Genk?
Liverpool pose another big test for West Ham after their recent meetings with Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. The Anfield natives are enjoying their longest unbeaten run in 32-years at 24 games across all competitions.
They also sit second in the Premier League to Chelsea as the only side yet to lose a single fixture. While also boasting the best offence with 29 goals in 10 games and the third-best defence with just eight conceded. Only Chelsea (3) and Man City (6) have allowed fewer.
So, Moyes will surely be loath to throw Coufal into his line-up against the Reds without any minutes at Genk. Even if Soucek claims his West Ham teammate is ready and did not suffer any lasting effects of the injury that kept Coufal from the Czech Republic’s October fixtures.
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