West Ham ace Vladimir Coufal admits he has struggled since the start of the season and says he knew what was coming during the Euros

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West Ham right-back Vladimir Coufal has opened up on how much his groin injury bothered him during the first six months of the season.

The 29-year-old began the season as the Hammers’ undisputed number one right-back but his form was patchy at best.

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In fact, he looked like a shadow of the player who arrived at the London Stadium for around £4.2 million in October 2020 (The Athletic).

In all fairness to Coufal, he did suffer a groin injury way back in September during our Carabao Cup clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The Czech Republic international played through that injury for quite some time before finally succumbing to surgery in March.

And Coufal has now opened up on his struggles with injury this season…

West Ham ace Coufal lifts lid on groin surgery

The 29-year-old has been well off the pace this season. That isn’t debatable.

We wrote a piece here on Hammers News a couple of days ago highlighting the Czech star’s recent regression. That may have been perceived as harsh but as mentioned before, there is no room for sentiment at elite level sport.

Coufal has offered an explanation as to why his form for West Ham has suffered though, as quoted by Football.London:

“I was struggling since the start of the season. It started in the Euros but I didn’t pay attention because I thought it would pass. After it was more serious and more serious and I was still playing. It was no excuse for form. I worked really hard for six weeks. The first prediction was to return after six weeks. After five weeks I was ready to play. Professor Ernest Schilders did an amazing job with the surgery. Rich and George [West Ham’s medical staff] looked after me and did an amazing job. I need to thank them because they looked after me like their kids.”

That’s fair enough from Vlad.

But what matters now is getting back to his best physically and rediscovering the form that he displayed on a consistent basis last season.

Time for Vlad to prove doubters wrong

Whether Coufal is able to do that for West Ham remains to be seen.

One thing’s for sure though, West Ham ace Coufal will try his heart out to get back to his best. And we’re desperately hoping that that time comes sooner rather than later.

The 29-year-old will have a great chance to prove his worth tomorrow night against Lyon in the Europa League.

What better time for him to get back to his best than in France tomorrow night! Come on Vlad, we’re all right behind you.

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