The West Ham United hitman could be recalled to the starting line-up on Saturday.
West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini sat down for his pre-match press conference today, and responded when asked why Marko Arnautovic has not been starting games recently, as quoted by Football.London.
The Austrian was heavily linked with a move away from the Hammers in January, with BBC Sport reporting that the east London outfit received a £35 million bid from China for his services.
The 29-year-old eventually stayed at West Ham, however, although he has not had things all his own way since the turn of the year.
Pellegrini has preferred Javier Hernandez though the middle in recent weeks, with Arnautovic battling with his form and a succession of niggling injuries.
And the Chilean responded to reporters today when asked why he has chosen to leave the former Stoke City man on the bench over the past few weeks and months, as quoted by Football.London:
“Marko was out of the team for several reasons. First because his mind was not right when he had the option to go to China, then he returned but didn’t work for one week and needed time to recover. After that, he was sick, he was going to play against Manchester City but was ill, so there are lots of reasons why he is on the bench. But I think he is ready to return to his position.”
West Ham face Huddersfield Town at the London Stadium on Saturday, and Arnie will be hoping to start his first game since his side’s 3-0 defeat to Wolves at the end of January.
And the Austria international will be desperate to head into the two-week international break on the back of a match-winning display against the Terriers.
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