Leeds United's key relegation rivals handed huge injury boost as part of five-man update
Leeds United's FA Cup opponents West Ham are in Premier League action on Friday.
Leeds United’s relegation rivals West Ham are set to be boosted by the return from injury of a key player for their seven-game run-in.
Crysencio Summerville sustained a calf injury during his side’s FA Cup fifth-round win over Brentford in March. The Dutchman missed a month of action including last weekend’s quarter-final defeat against former club Leeds.
He also sat out two Premier League games in which West Ham picked up just one point, scoring once. The winger was clearly missed, having previously been on a run of seven goals in 11 games across all competitions.
West Ham are preparing for arguably their biggest game of the season so far at home to Wolves on Friday. Boss Nuno Espirito Santo is hopeful of having talisman Summerville back available while other recent absences could also return.
“He’s improving,” Espirito Santo said of the former Leeds winger. “Cry, JC [Jean-Clair Todibo] and Callum Wilson are all improving, so we’ll see.
“We still have tomorrow to assess, and we’re positive that they can be available. Dinos [Mavropanos] is clear of the concussion protocol, which is good. Aaron [Wan-Bissaka] is back with us, and he’s working well.
“A few of our players are recovering after Sunday. It was a tough game, that went to extra-time, but it mainly was just fatigue, so we’re positive.”
While the likes of Summerville and Todibo missed Sunday’s FA Cup defeat through injury, Wan-Bissaka had no such issue. The right-back was, however, enjoying an open-top bus parade through DR Congo after qualifying for the World Cup.
Wan-Bissaka played in a victory over Jamaica on Tuesday before returning to DR Congo for a celebratory parade with teammates and president Felix Tshisekedi. According to The Athletic, West Ham have submitted a complaint to FIFA over his late return.
“We deal with that,” Hammer boss Espirito Santo said. It was not possible for him to be here [against Leeds],. But now he returns, he’s good, he’s working [on the training ground].
“Let’s see tomorrow if he can help the team. I don’t want to go too much into details, they reach a big thing in Congo [World Cup qualification], but he returned and he’s good.”
Victory against rock-bottom Wolves would lift West Ham out of the relegation zone for a couple of days at least, with Tottenham Hotspur dropping in ahead of their Sunday trip to Sunderland. The Hammers would also be just one point away from Leeds with a win.
Daniel Farke’s side are the last of all four relegation candidates to play this gameweek when they go to Manchester United on Monday night. The Whites boss will be sweating on the fitness of Anton Stach and Joe Rodon, who both suffered ankle injuries at West Ham.