West Ham striker Niclas Fullkrug will miss two to three weeks of football after picking up an injury on international duty, according to Hammers News.

An insider source told the website that the initial diagnosis means the German could be on the treatment table for the rest of September:

“Fullkrug is back today and it looks like a 2-3 week injury, it’s NOT ideal!”

Other reports have confirmed the nature of the injury. Fullkrug is said to be suffering from Achilles tendonitis. The inflammation will take time to settle down and he could be sidelined for longer if his recovery doesn’t go as well as expected.

Which West Ham games will the forward miss?

It’s expected that Fullkrug will be out for up to four matches. Julen Lopetegui’s side take on Fulham this weekend before hosting Chelsea at the London Stadium the following Saturday.

The Irons then have a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool in the Carabao Cup ahead of another away fixture against Brentford in the league to close out the month.

Fullkrug’s injury will give opportunities to others

Danny Ings is currently the third-choice striker and he didn’t even make the substitutes bench for the last two games against Bournemouth and Manchester City.

However, the 32-year-old did catch the eye when he scored a hat-trick in the behind-closed-doors friendly versus Dagenham and Redbridge last week.

Ings is likely to be recalled to the matchday squad by Lopetegui for the next match against Fulham. The manager also has other options he can try.

If he needs to, he could deploy Jarrod Bowen through the middle, with Mohammed Kudus moving to the right flank and Crysencio Summerville getting a chance on the left wing. Michail Antonio is, however, still the favourite to start at Craven Cottage.

Find out who is in West Ham’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here