There were plenty of smiles as the West Ham United players left the home dressing room after the 4-1 win against Ipswich Town in their final game before this international break, but there was one exit which offered little encouragement.
Niclas Fullkrug was walking with a limp as he left the London Stadium. In different circumstances, the 31-year-old striker would have been heading off on international duty with Germany. Instead, he missed their matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands and will also be unavailable for Saturday’s game against Tottenham Hotspur as he continues to nurse a calf injury.
Fullkrug first sustained the knock while representing his country in September. The initial diagnosis was not considered to be serious and he returned to light training before the 1-1 draw against Fulham, West Ham’s first match after that international break. But he has suffered a setback with his recovery.
The £27million ($35.1m at the current exchange rate) summer signing from Borussia Dortmund last featured against Manchester City on August 31. He has only played 63 minutes in the Premier League, having missed West Ham’s past five matches in all competitions.
“Fullkrug is out because he’s still recovering from his injury,” West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui told reporters on Thursday. “He initially thought he had one non-important injury, but he has had complications and we are waiting for him to get better.
“We thought he would be out for a maximum of two weeks, but he has been out for over a month and a half. Hopefully, he will be ready in the next few weeks, but right now, he is out. I don’t know how long he will be out. We will see.”
West Ham are entitled to compensation from football’s global governing body FIFA, as outlined by its club protection programme, an insurance policy which covers the risk of players suffering injuries while playing international football. But it will do little to make amends for Fullkrug’s slow start to life at the London Stadium.
Fullkrug’s due diligence before making the move from last season’s Champions League runners-up involved canvassing the opinions of former West Ham players Sebastien Haller, who was a team-mate at Dortmund last season, and Thilo Kehrer, a fellow German international.
Following that victory over promoted Ipswich, he posted a picture on his Instagram captioned: “Big win at home, can’t wait to be back.”
But with a return date unclear, captain Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio will continue to deputise up front in Fullkrug’s absence. Antonio returned to training on Thursday, having started for Jamaica in a CONCACAF Nations League fixture at home against Honduras in the early hours of Tuesday UK time.
The 34-year-old, who is into the final year of his contract, has started six of West Ham’s seven league games and scored his first goal of the season against Ipswich. Lopetegui has trusted him to lead the line in Fullkrug’s absence — Bowen is often tasked with the lone striker role once Antonio has been substituted during games, but the England international is better suited to his natural position on the right flank.
Last season, Bowen registered 20 goals and 10 assists across 44 appearances, his best return for the club since joining from Hull City in January 2020.
But it could have all been different for West Ham had they landed the striker who was their first-choice transfer target this summer. They turned to Fullkrug when their £30million offer for Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran was rejected. The 20-year-old Colombia international certainly seemed interested in the move, having faced disciplinary action at Villa after he made West Ham’s famous ‘Irons’ crossed-forearms gesture on Instagram Live.
West Ham needed a youthful offensive presence. It is why Atletico Madrid forward Samu Omorodion, another 20-year-old, was also considered. He joined Porto of Portugal instead and has seven goals in as many games for them, including two against Manchester United in the Europa League. He also hit four goals for Spain Under-21s against their counterparts from Malta on Tuesday.
Despite a total summer expenditure of more than £120million, Fullkrug was the only forward West Ham signed to challenge Antonio and Danny Ings for a starting berth. When the recruitment team, led by technical director Tim Steidten, went through the shortlist of potential additions up front, he emerged as the best option.
Despite his age, Fullkrug’s goalscoring record for Germany (14 in 22 caps), Werder Bremen (49 in 124 appearances) and Dortmund (15 in 43) was viewed favourably by countryman Steidten. The duo also previously worked together at Bremen.
Fullkrug’s only West Ham start so far was in the Carabao Cup win against Bournemouth. Although his performance during 74 minutes on the London Stadium pitch that night was underwhelming, he aspires to excite fans and form a great understanding with Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta.
“I am confident that I will be able to perform at my best and score lots of goals,” Fullkrug told West Ham’s website. “I have a very good feeling — I’m strong, fit and in shape — and I just want to get out there and start playing. I need assists, too. I’m not a guy who will dribble past five players. I am capable with both feet and have good aerial ability. These are my strengths.”
There was a period earlier in Fullkrug’s career where injuries also curtailed his impact. Between 2018 and 2021, he missed 61 matches for Hannover and Bremen with issues including a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee and a broken toe and was largely unable to play without pain. From 2021 onwards, calf and knee problems have caused him to sit out more matches.
West Ham have repeatedly struggled to recruit a proven No 9, with Haller and Gianluca Scamacca recent examples of this. Fullkrug’s redeeming feature is his ability to bounce back. Once he recovered from that ACL injury suffered in September 2019, he scored six goals across 19 league appearances for Bremen in the 2020-21 season.
Other West Ham strikers have also endured slow starts, only for their fortune to change.
Carlos Tevez did not score until his 20th game for the club but ended that 2006-07 season with seven goals, playing a key role in them avoiding relegation from the Premier League. Andy Carroll scored in his ninth appearance in November 2012 and finished his seven-year West Ham career with 34 goals from 142 appearances. And it was not until David Moyes, in his first spell as the manager in 2017-18, transitioned Marko Arnautovic from a wide player into a centre-forward that he started to earn the supporters’ approval.
Only time will tell if Fullkrug follows suit.
(Top photo: Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images)
