West Ham striker Niclas Fullkrug could be set for another spell on the sidelines after he was ruled out for Germany’s game against Slovakia on Thursday night.

The 32-year-old was not in the matchday squad for the 2-0 defeat in Bratislava, with it being reported by Bulinews that he was absent due to a “muscular injury”.

At the moment, it is not known whether Fullkrug will return to play against Northern Ireland on Sunday, but the signs don’t look good.

Borussia Dortmund’s Maximilian Beier has been called up to the squad ahead of Germany’s next World Cup qualifier.

Fullkrug is a key player for the Hammers

The German international has started all three of West Ham’s Premier League fixtures this season, with head coach Graham Potter currently favouring him ahead of Callum Wilson.

As he has not got off the mark yet, there was a case for dropping Fullkrug even before this latest injury blow. Potter’s men take on Tottenham on Saturday week in their next league game.

The West Ham striker has a poor injury record

Fullkrug hasn’t had a lot of luck with his fitness since joining from Dortmund last year. An Achilles problem sustained during the first international break at the start of last season kept him on the sidelines for a considerable length of time.

The forward then picked up a major hamstring injury during Potter’s first match in charge against Aston Villa last January, which led to him being ruled out for two months.

Fullkrug did feature in the Irons’ last nine league matches of the 2024/25 campaign, but his overall return of 3 goals and 2 assists in 20 appearances was not particularly impressive. After this latest setback, we may now see Wilson get a run in the side.

Read more about the West Ham First Team Squad for 2025/26 here