West Ham are hopeful Jarrod Bowen can make his return from injury against Chelsea on Monday.
The Hammers’ captain has missed their last five games with a foot injury suffered during the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool on December 29.
It was initially feared Bowen could be sidelined well into February but the forward was able to train on grass two weeks ago and has gradually increased his workload since, prompting optimism he can be fit to play at Stamford Bridge.
However, Crysencio Summerville is taking longer than expected to recover from a hamstring injury. Manager Graham Potter told reporters: “Summerville is very doubtful [to face Chelsea]. It’s taking longer than anticipated.
“Jarrod is more positive. Has a few more days to train, but it’s looking hopeful. He’s trained the last two days. Lucas [Paqueta] we’re monitoring and looking after.
“He hasn’t trained so far this week. We're hopeful that he can train the back end of the week.”
Danny Ings remains West Ham’s only fit out-and-out striker following injuries to Bowen, Michail Antonio and Niclas Fullkrug, prompting an urgent search to sign a forward this month, but Potter would not be drawn on specific names.
“I think the club and the board and the chairman have been fantastic really supportive, wanting to help,” he said.
“I want to make the right decision for this football club. I want to get the right player for this team.
“Signing a player is easy. There's so many agents you can imagine pushing players left, right and centre. But the right one for the right price that fits how you want to play: that's the difficult thing and I think as a club we have to be mindful of that.”
