David Moyes confirmed that top scorer Jarrod Bowen is one of a handful of West Ham United players facing a late fitness test in the lead up to Thursday night’s UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
The Hammers welcome the recently-crowned Bundesliga champions to London Stadium needing to overturn a two-goal deficit to progress to the last four, after late Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface strikes earned Leverkusen the advantage at half-time in the tie.
England international Bowen - who has notched 19 goals in 40 appearances so far this season - missed the first leg in Germany after picking up a knock against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Premier League duty, but made a welcome return to training on Wednesday.
While recognising his importance to the team, Moyes was clear that he won’t risk Bowen or any other member of his squad if they aren’t completely ready to get stuck back into match action.
“It was great to see Jarrod back out on the training field with us,” Moyes said. “It’s the first time we’ve had him with us, so we’re not sure whether he’ll make it or not yet.
“You always want your key players available, and your goal scorers. We need goals tomorrow, and Jarrod is our top scorer.
“Everyone knows what Jarrod has done for us over the last few years, and during this season, so if he was able to play it would be a big boost, and I’m sure it would give the crowd a big lift.
“But the players’ welfare is the most important thing in this scenario. We’d never risk someone if we thought they had a chance of injury, or if it wasn’t right.”
Alphonse Areola and Kalvin Phillips - who, like Bowen, have been consigned to the sidelines through injury in recent times - will similarly be assessed ahead of the Leverkusen clash, having also trained on Wednesday.
Boss Moyes will definitely be without suspended duo Lucas Paquetá and Emerson, but is confident his group is full of individuals ready to step up and help provide the Claret and Blue Army with another European night to remember.
“We’ve had Alphonse and Kalvin out there with us today as well as Jarrod, but we’re not sure about the availability of them either,” Moyes added. “We’ll just have to wait and see.
“We’ve lost Lucas through suspension, and we’re obviously not sure about Jarrod, so we have to find ways to make magic happen.
“In European games, we’ve often seen people come in and make the difference - like when Pablo Fornals came on and scored against AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals last season.
“We know we’ve got lots of players who can make the difference we’re going to need, so we all have to give our best and see what happens.”
