Niclas Füllkrug’s own injury misery accompanies him throughout his football career, as do the many goals he has scored. The German international striker appears to have taken both with him from Borussia Dortmund to his new club West Ham United last summer. In the first half of the season, Füllkrug did not play a full-length game for the Malocherverein from London’s East End. At the start of the season he was still lacking fitness after the European Championships, then in September he suffered severe Achilles tendonitis while playing for the DFB team, which meant he had to take a three-month break. And after he had increasingly found his good form over the turn of the year, he suffered the next setback on Friday – he injured himself again. What bad luck!
In West Ham’s FA Cup defeat against Aston Villa (1:2), Füllkrug had to be substituted in the 15th minute. Supported by two coaches, he limped off the pitch and couldn’t even perform properly on the way to the dressing room. After his team’s corner was blocked, the 31-year-old sprinted forward from his own penalty area and stopped abruptly just before the halfway line – because he suddenly felt a stabbing pain in the back of his left thigh. The striker flailed his arms, fell to the ground suffering and immediately gave the signal for substitution. The teammates rushed to him. On the way to the sideline, Füllkrug repeatedly touched the painful area. “We are all with you,” the club wrote worriedly on social media.
After the match, West Ham coach Graham Potter, who had taken over from the sacked Julen Lopetegui the day before, suspected that it could be a “serious hamstring injury”. According to a report by the Sunciting a physical scan from Saturday, Füllkrug will reportedly be out for three months. That almost meant the season was over for him. The Hanover native is likely to miss the Nations League quarter-finals with the DFB team against Italy in March.
At least Füllkrug was recently able to indicate why West Ham had signed him for 30 million euros. He initiated his team’s opening goal against Villa with a wonderful header and served as a passing point for his talented offensive partners. Until his substitution, West Ham tried to use him to carry out their own attacks and to use his assertiveness. In December he scored in the first match since his return against Leicester and recently also against Manchester City.
In addition to Füllkrug, strikers Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen are also out
Füllkrug’s time at West Ham, which has so far been plagued by injuries, represents, in a sense, the club’s equally sobering season. The Hammers wanted to compete for the European Cup ranks with major investments and the newly installed Lopetegui. But they are stuck in 14th place, just seven points clear of the relegation zone. Recently there were crashing defeats against Liverpool and Manchester City, which cost the Spaniard his job. He failed to establish an exciting, ball-possession-oriented style of play. His team remained pale like himself. He was unable to convince his passionate supporters. The short episode was reminiscent of the guest appearance at Real Madrid in 2018, when Lopetegui was over after just four months.
The installation of the Englishman Potter, who was unemployed for almost two years after the separation from Chelsea, is a course correction. The 49-year-old is supposed to calm the club, his approach is sometimes like a mixture of Lopetegui and the conservative veteran coach David Moyes, who was dismissed after the end of the previous season and who has now been hired by relegation rivals Everton. The aim is to stabilize the fourth-worst defense in the Premier League and also score more goals. West Ham managed more than two goals in just one competitive game – in a sweeping win against newly promoted Ipswich.
However, the offensive personnel situation is likely to cause Potter just as much problems as Lopetegui. In addition to Füllkrug, his representative Michail Antonio, who suffered a broken lower leg in an accident in December, will also be out until the end of the season. The Englishman with Jamaican family roots left the lane on a Saturday afternoon and crashed his vehicle head-on into a tree. Emergency workers were only able to rescue him from the destroyed car after three quarters of an hour. West Ham will also have to do without their previous top goalscorer Jarrod Bowen (five league goals) in the next few weeks. He suffered a foot fracture at the end of the year. The only remaining center striker is veteran Danny Ings.
For this reason, West Ham are targeting further reinforcements in the winter transfer window. You have to think about access, says Potter. The German Tim Steidten, who came from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2023 and took on the role of technical director at the club, is particularly under pressure. He is responsible for the club’s transfers and was able to sign players for a total of almost 300 million euros. He is expected to quickly find solutions for the rest of the season.
After all, West Ham still have almost three weeks left – unlike in the first half of the season. When Niclas Füllkrug was injured, the summer transfer period had already come to an end.
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