Injury expert: Coufal could face lengthy spell out amid new West Ham setback

Fri 29 October 2021 10:31, UK

Vladimir Coufal’s injury rehabilitation may not be progressing as hoped at West Ham.

So says injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.

Coufal, 29, played the last eight minutes before West Ham triumphed on penalties against Man City in the League Cup on 27 October.

But the Czech Republic international, who has been struggling with a groin issue, has not started any of the Hammers’ last three matches.

As quoted by football.london on 21 October, manager David Moyes revealed that Coufal has been “taking injections” to manage the discomfort.

Dinnery claims that the injections could be a sign that the right-back’s injury recovery is not going quite as planned.

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“This may be a little more complex than we thought,” he told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams.

“It may be that things aren’t progressing as well as they hoped after he picked up the injury in the League Cup against Man United a while back.

“The injury was being managed conservatively. We saw that he wasn’t training a lot and was then rolled out for matchday.

“The injection is used when a player is in a lot of pain. It will limit the pain and reduce the inflammation around that area.

“We expected to see him back in and around the squad in game week eight or nine but that hasn’t come to fruition.

“It could be that he isn’t responding and that might mean they need to make a decision with regards to treatment.

“But West Ham are winning games, so is there a need to rush? They have the luxury to be able to continue in his absence.”