West Ham could have up to three players back in contention for their next game against Fulham on Friday week.

The Hammers will not be playing this weekend after having been knocked out of the FA Cup but it will give manager Manuel Pellegrini’s side time to strengthen their numbers.

Samir Nasri sat out the draw against Crystal Palace at the weekend with a calf strain but should be back to face the Cottagers.

Pellegrini has already mentioned that Manuel Lanzini could make his long-awaited return from a knee injury versus Claudio Ranieri’s team, while defender Fabian Balbuena is closing in on a return from his own knee problem.

There is some bad news on the injury front, however. In his pre-match press conference on Friday, Pellegrini hinted that Carlos Sanchez (knee), Andriy Yarmolenko (Achilles) and Winston Reid (knee) won’t feature again this campaign.

Jack Wilshere’s recovery from an ongoing ankle injury remains a worry. The England international has now finished his eight weeks of rehab following surgery, and the staff are now waiting to see how he reacts when back in full training.