As expected, Nuno Espirito Santo ruled Crysencio Summerville out of West Ham United’s clash with Manchester City. Over in Germany, though, there was better news for Callum Marshall and VFL Bochum.
While Nuno will be without Summerville for the visit of Pep Guardiola’s side, Bochum coach Uwe Rosler is ‘confident’ that his Northern Ireland international will be fit to feature against Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
Marshall inspired Bochum’s comeback win over Kaiserslautern last time out. The West Ham United loanee stepped off the bench to fire in a classy equaliser, despite having suffered a nasty pre-match injury which left his boot filling up with blood.
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According to WAZ, Callum Marshall collided with a training ground dummy with such force that it left him with a nasty gash in his toe.
West Ham United loanee Callum Marshall plays through the pain at Bochum
To paraphrase Rosler, a 57-year-old who once coached the likes of Leeds United, Brentford and Wigan Athletic, this was not an incident with which he was previously accustomed.
“I’m confident that Callum will manage [to play against Hertha] with assistance,” a relieved Rosler says. “He can run, but not yet with the ball.”
“As he was falling, he hit the sharp edges [of the dummy] and injured his toe. It was a very unfortunate situation; I’ve never experienced anything like it in all my years!”
“[In training before the game], he will run. Callum will do the sprints without the ball. Then we hope that he can fully participate with the ball.
“We signed him because of this mentality.”
Bochum ‘would love’ to sign Marshall permanently
While Marshall had come under fire in Germany on the back of six Bundesliga.2 matches without a goal – a drought he ended last time out – Rosler never doubted the West Ham kid for a second. The head coach was keen to sign Marshall because of his versatility and also his ferocious pressing.
There is a reason why some West Ham fans likened him to Jamie Vardy during a handful of impressive pre-season performances in the summer of 2025.
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WAZ add that, such is Marshall’s fierce determination to build on that confidence-boosting Kaiserslautern comeback, he could even play on a diet of painkillers at the Olimpiastadion.
Bochum, the report explains, ‘would so love to keep [him] beyond the end of his loan, because he’s a perfect fit [who] refuses to be defeated’. Score the winner against Hertha after a breakfast of paracetamols, and he will forever have a place in the hearts of Bochum supporters.
Bochum are ninth in the German second-tier, six points above the relegation zone and eight points off the play-offs. Marshall’s two goals – a dramatic debut equaliser against Paderborn and that tidy finish against Kaiserslautern – have contributed four points to the cause so far.
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