Kurt Zouma is ‘really positive’ with where he is at in his recovery from a serious hamstring injury, West Ham United manager David Moyes has revealed via quotes by football.london.
Moyes had to replace the defender midway through the second-half of the Irons’ win over Chelsea earlier this month. The Frenchman started the London Stadium affair against the side he left this summer for £30m, but pulled up clutching his thigh without being tackled.
Reports by The Times soon suggested Zouma faced up to 12-weeks out of action after scans on the injury. The scan showed he had sustained significant damage to the muscle, with a minimum expected absence of six-weeks.
Six-weeks would put Zouma’s return near West Ham’s clashes with Leeds and Manchester United on January 16 and 22. But three-months would be their trip to Liverpool in March.
West Ham boss Moyes offers positive Zouma injury update
Moyes does not expect Zouma to line up for West Ham soon, but his recovery from injury is pleasing. The 27-year-old is well ahead of the timeframe set at the start of his recovery.
“The good news is that Kurt is doing really well,” Moyes said. “Kurt is coming on and we’re really pleased with where Kurt is. I couldn’t turn around and say he’s going to be back in a week or a month, but he’s really positive about his injury.
“[He is] well ahead of schedule at the moment. I am hoping there is positive news on Kurt.”
Zouma returning from injury ahead of schedule would be a huge boost for West Ham and Moyes. The Irons boss currently only has Craig Dawson and Issa Diop available at centre-half, with Angelo Ogbonna also absent.
Moyes had also started Zouma in 11 of West Ham’s 13 Premier League games after signing the 27-year-old in August. He struck an instantly successful partnership with Ogbonna and has produced a number of crucial tackles in claret-and-blue already.
But Moyes will not want Zouma to rush back from injury and West Ham lose the £120k-a-week enforcer for longer.
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