A key West Ham star has returned and will leave his new head coach Julen Lopetegui in shock at his condition.
West Ham have not looked great in pre-season and the club are struggling to make signings.
The new Premier League season gets underway in less than three weeks and Julen Lopetegui is under pressure to hit the ground running.
Not least because he was far from first choice among West Ham fans before his appointment.
Lopetegui had not even officially started work at West Ham when he was hit by a huge blow this summer.
Because when captaining Mexico in their opening game of Copa America midfield lynchpin Edson Alvarez suffered a hamstring injury which left him in tears.
Key West Ham star returns
Alvarez missed the rest of the tournament. And it was claimed at the time he faced between six-eight weeks on the sidelines.
That gave Lopetegui and technical director Tim Steidten a big headache as they were already on the hunt for a new central midfielder.
Alvarez was Steidten’s first capture at West Ham. And he quickly established himself as a fundamental player last season as well as a big fan favourite.
The 26-year-old was one of the bargains of the season after being lured to the London Stadium from Ajax for around £34m.
So the prospect of starting his tenure without such a crucial component of the team would have been the last thing new head coach Lopetegui wanted.
There could be some welcome positive news, though.
Because the key West Ham star has returned and he will leave Lopetegui in shock at his condition.
Alvarez will leave Lopetegui in shock at his condition
West Ham have posted a video showing Alvarez meeting up with the team on their US tour.
“El Machin has touched down in Tampa,” the club posted on social media.
And Lopetegui will be shocked when he sees the midfield star.
Alvarez looks remarkably well as he greets his teammates and staff.
There are no visible signs of any injury or impediment to his movement that you might expect with the most serious hamstring injuries at this stage of his recovery.
Alavrez looks as fit as a fiddle and the video has filled Hammers fans with hope he may be ahead of schedule in his return.
El Machin to El Capitan?
Whether he’ll be ready to face Aston Villa on the opening day in two-and-a-half weeks remains to be seen.
However, on this evidence he surely won’t be too far away.
Alvarez is nicknamed El Machin.
But he could soon be known as El Capitan.
Because super sleuth fans believe they spotted a big clue that Lopetegui will name Alvarez his new West Ham skipper to replace Kurt Zouma.
It is great to see Alvarez back with the squad and looking fit and well.
He will undoubtedly be one of the first names on Lopetegui’s teamsheet. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
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