West Ham's hopes of European glory this season have been given a huge boost with David Moyes confirming that Kurt Zouma is “ahead of schedule” in his recovery from injury.
The French defender was forced off with an ankle injury at Brentford earlier this month with initial scans leaving the Hammers fearing that his season could be over.
Issa Diop was then added to the injury list with his own ankle problem, leaving Moyes with just one fit central defender in Craig Dawson.
However, Diop is also progressing well with the Hammer re-adjusting the return dates for both players.
Moyes has suggested that Thursday night's Europa League semi-final meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt may come too soon for both but there will now be hope that either Zouma or Diop could feature in the second leg next week.
“Kurt is back doing light work, he is ahead of schedule which is really good," said Moyes. “Issa is actually doing quite well as well, we feel a little bit better than we first hoped.
“There is a bit of positivity around those players and because of that it has given us a bit of a perk up that maybe they're not quite as long as we thought they might be.
“I never rush players back, it is always better to make sure they're right.”
West Ham have also been without Angelo Ogbonna since November and have struggled for consistency since losing the Italian defender.
Ogbonna has returned to Rush Green to step up his recovery but is unlikely to feature before the end of the season.
"Angelo Ogbonna is back in the building," said Moyes.
"I would be amazed if Angelo played again before the end of the season."
