West Ham insider drops fresh injury update ahead of Wolves, Moyes will be sweating - opinion

West Ham United defender Vladimir Coufal remains an injury doubt for the Hammers’ upcoming Premier League fixture.

That’s according to a report by Claret & Hugh, who claim that, after missing the 1-1 draw with Newcastle United last weekend as a result of a recurring groin injury, the right-back is 50/50 for the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking about the current condition of the 29-year-old, the West Ham insider said: “Vladimir Coufal remains 50/50 for the game after reporting a flare-up of his groin injury and should he be unavailable then it’s likely Ben Johnson will be the replacement following a poor first half from Ryan Fredericks against Newcastle United on Saturday.”

With Ryan Fredericks indeed enduring a torrid afternoon against the Magpies last time out – as Claret & Hugh suggest – with the defender being withdrawn at half-time in the stalemate, the fact that Coufal remains a doubt for this weekend’s fixture is sure to have left David Moyes sweating.

Indeed, while the £10.8m-rated Czech Republic international has seen his form tail off in recent weeks, the right-back has nevertheless been a steady option on the right of Moyes’ backline over his 22 Premier League appearances this season, registering three assists, creating four big chances and helping his side keep four clean sheets, as well as making an average of 0.9 interceptions, 1.7 tackles, 0.8 key passes, two clearances and winning 4.1 duels per game.

These returns have seen the £27k-per-week defender average a SofaScore match rating of 6.81, ranking him as the Hammers’ 14th-best performer in the top flight of English football.

As such, should Coufal indeed be ruled out of Sunday’s fixture it would undoubtedly come as a huge