David Moyes is ‘not totally convinced’ Vladimir Coufal has overcome his injury and is fit to face Lyon on Thursday, but the West Ham United boss is hopeful Ben Johnson will return.
The Hammers host Les Gones at the London Stadium in midweek for the first-leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie. The Irons sealed their place after coming from behind to eliminate Sevilla in the last 16. Lyon, meanwhile, edged Porto 2-1 after a 1-0 first-leg win.
Moyes faces a potential selection headache at right-back after Coufal and Johnson sat out West Ham’s win over Everton. Ryan Fredericks started on Sunday as Premier League action resumed following the international break. He had only opened five of his 12 prior outings.
Coufal was only an unused substitute against the Blues as the West Ham star continues his rehabilitation from a groin injury. The 29-year-old required surgery in late February to fix a long-term issue, and had not featured in any of Moyes’ matchday sides since the surgery.
Johnson had stood in for Coufal during the former Slavia Prague dynamo’s absence to hit 26 appearances for the season. But Moyes had to recall Fredericks as the 22-year-old felt some discomfort in his hamstring upon returning to east London from England U21s duty.
David Moyes ‘not totally convinced’ Coufal will play when West Ham host Lyon
Moyes is hopeful Johnson’s injury has already cleared and he could now face Lyon in West Ham’s Europa League quarter-final. But the Scot doubts Coufal is yet fit to feature, at least not starting, with fears the £5.5m star still needs further time to complete his recovery.
“Ben Johnson’s trained, so I’m hoping he’ll be okay,” Moyes said in his press conference on Wednesday. “Vladimir, we’ve brought back and we’re still not totally convinced he’s 100 per cent. So, he might just need a bit more time.”
Moyes would surely like to have Coufal available, having previously called the right-back ‘terrific’ since joining West Ham in 2020. But Fredericks produced a solid display against Everton on Sunday, to suggest he can do a job against Lyon if Johnson is also unavailable.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
