David Moyes hopes January signing Danny Ings will be fit enough to feature in all three of West Ham United’s fixtures before the March international break.
The 30-year-old’s first few weeks with the Hammers were hindered by a knee injury sustained during the striker’s debut against Everton, but Ings made an immediate impact in his first start for the club.
Ings scored a brace in the 4-0 win against Nottingham Forest, showcasing a clinical edge in front of goal that the Hammers have lacked all season. West Ham couldn’t build on that win though after they were comfortably beaten 4-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion a week later, with Moyes’ side struggling to break away from the relegation battle, sitting 16th just one point above the bottom three.
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Ings played the full 90 minutes of that defeat against Albion, his first full 90 since he featured for Aston Villa against Newcastle United in late October. The 84 minutes he played against Forest was the first time Ings had played more than an hour of football since November.
Speaking on Friday ahead of the loss at Brighton, Moyes said: “I actually think in many ways, hopefully it has helped Danny. He’s had a chance. I think he said to us it was probably the longest he has played for a long time regarding minutes. I think it was the best part of 70 or 80 minutes he played [against Forest], so he thinks that was the longest he has played for a while.
“It’s not getting him fitter, but it’s getting him back into that mode where he’s ready to play that level of minutes. He’s more someone that over the years has been been reliable with his goals, types of goals, how he scored and I thought he sort of scored two typical Danny Ings goals [against Forest], which are the kind we could do with getting. The sort where he’s got a chance and he’ll score.
“Again, I said to him, one that he missed with his head, which was one that he got in the first-half which he didn’t quite get his shot away, the boy sort of toe poked it away. I think getting into those situations where if we keep getting him in and playing him in, he’ll get the goals.”
The Hammers have three more games to play before the March international break, with Aston Villa’s visit to the London Stadium sandwiched by the Europa Conference League tie against Larnaca, with the first leg in Cyprus taking place this Thursday night.
Moyes added: “We’ve got two big European nights where he’s available to play for us, which is really important for us as well. Then, we have a break. We’ve got two league games [Brighton and Aston Villa], two European games to play before the break. I hope Danny is ready to play in them all. It might be that he doesn’t play every minute but we’re hoping that he’s fit and available for all of them.”
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