Insider: West Ham star Kurt Zouma facing extended spell on sidelines after setback
It is unlikely Kurt Zouma will return for West Ham during the festive fixture period.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
West Ham confirmed last week (24 November) that Zouma had undergone surgery on a knee injury.
Claret & Hugh reported earlier this week (30 November) that the issue dates back to the 28-year-old’s time at Chelsea.
It is claimed that West Ham hope Zouma will be fit for their trip to Arsenal on Boxing Day although it is difficult to put a specific timeline on his return.
“The fact that he’s been carrying it for a fairly long time suggests that it’s fairly minimal,” Dinnery told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“It’s an issue they’ve been aware of and were treating it conservatively.
“Everything points to a meniscal problem, so a little tidy-up of the cartilage with the arthroscopy, which is minimal invasion surgery.
“You expect a four to six week return to play timeline on that.
“It’s a little bit of a tidy up, it’s nothing too serious.
“You can manage it fairly well but on occasion, it does flare up, as we saw in that last game against Leicester during the warm up and the decision was taken to go under the knife.
“It may call into question a return for that festive fixture period but certainly for the second half of the campaign, there’s no question about that.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has tipped an “auction” for West Ham as the “deal of the century” is cited.