West Ham United goalkeeper Alphone Areola will again be looking to make his return to action when the Hammers take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
First-choice stopper Areola has been ruled out with a groin injury since going off midway through West Ham’s 4-3 defeat away to Newcastle United on 30th March, with Lukasz Fabianski filling in between the sticks in his absence.
Both Areola himself and manager David Moyes spoke last week of their hope that the goalkeeper is close to a return, but Fabianski continued in the side for their two-goal defeat to Fulham on Sunday afternoon.
Alphonse Areola hopeful of West Ham return
The France international was again unable to take his place for West Ham’s Europa League quarter-final second leg against Bayer Leverkusen, with Xabi Alonso’s side progressing on aggregate following a 1-1 draw at the imaginatively-named London Stadium.
However, that may not tell us very much. Fabianski has been West Ham’s preferred goalkeeper in Europe and the cups this season, starting every game bar their Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat to Liverpool and a group stage game against Olympiacos, for which he was ill.
As reported by the Standard, Areola said last week: "On one kick against Newcastle I felt a pain in my groin, and I knew something wasn't right, but I'm doing everything I can to be ready as soon as possible.
"The thing with muscle injuries is that you can't rush back, or you risk making it worse. Hopefully I can recover quickly.”
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