West Ham United have sorely missed Diafra Sakho this season but he could make his comeback in the London derby against Arsenal.
Diafra Sakho celebrates
The Hammers have endured a tough second season under Slaven Bilic although improved form after Christmas has pushed the club up to the relative comfort of midtable.
A difficult first campaign at the Olympic Stadium, the sour end to the recent Dimitri Payet saga and a dip in form of late with no wins in four have left morale low.
But there is some welcome good news for supporters about fans’ favourite Sakho, who looked certain to leave the club in the summer.
Rumours of a falling out with Bilic looked to have brought an end to the Senegal striker’s Hammers career in the summer but he made a return from injury earlier this season only to get injured again after two games.
There was positive news for the club this week, though, when West Ham’s head of medical and sports science Stijn Vandenbroucke set a firm date for the striker’s return which means he could be fit to feature in the London derby against Arsene Wenger’s Gunners on April 5th.
“We have Diafra Sakho who is getting stronger and stronger and he will start training with the PL2 squad next week,” Vandenbroucke told whufc.com.
Slaven Bilic and head of medical and sports science Stijn Vandenbroucke
“We work closely with Academy Director Terry Westley to ensure we can introduce returning players to controlled sessions, and Diaf will train with the PL2 squad for two weeks before he returns to training with the first team.”
Statistically Sakho has a superb goalscoring record for West Ham with almost a goal every other game since joining from Metz for just £3.5 million back in 2014.
Injuries have severely disrupted his progress, though, curtailing each season he has spent with the club.
If he can stay fit the 27-year-old could be like a new signing for Bilic when he does make his long awaited return.
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