West Ham United's players are back at the club's Rush Green training ground ahead of the second half of the season.
The Hammers have not been in action since losing 2-0 to Leicester City on November 12 in the Premier League 19 days ago and have had a break of more than two weeks before getting ready for the return.
West Ham take on Arsenal in their return to competitive fixtures on Boxing Day in the Premier League, but before that, they head to Cambridge United and Fulham in friendlies on December 6 and December 17.
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As West Ham tweeted a photo of four players on their return to Rush Green training ground, striker Gianluca Scamacca, midfielder Pablo Fornals and defenders Ben Johnson and Kurt Zouma were all pictured looking well wrapped up with the caption “The boys are back in the building” followed by the hammer and pick emoji.
While Zouma is back at Rush Green, it remains to be seen how fit he is, having recently undergone knee surgery. Italian striker Scamacca also withdrew from international duty last month due to a minor muscle issue.
Five players who are likely to miss the first friendly against League One outfit Cambridge are midfielders Declan Rice and Lucas Paqueta, goalkeeper Alphonse Areola and centre-backs Nayef Aguerd and Thilo Kehrer, who are all currently away with their countries at the World Cup.
Rice and Areola have already booked their places in the round of 16 of the World Cup with England and France respectively. Aguerd and Kehrer can do the same with Morocco and Germany respectively on Thursday evening, while Brazilian Paqueta has also sealed his place in the next round with a game to spare.
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