West Ham’s Lopetegui Discusses Player Fitness and Leicester Challenge

West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui addressed reporters ahead of the Premier League fixture against Leicester City on Tuesday, scheduled for a 20:15 kick-off. The following are the main points from his press conference: Following the loss to Arsenal, centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo is the sole player with an injury concern, pending additional evaluation. Striker Niclas Fullkrug “is improving and is very close” to making a comeback, though his availability for Tuesday’s match is improbable. Lopetegui stated: “Three months is a long time without matches, but thankfully he is close to recovery.” Mohammed Kudus has finished serving his five-game suspension and is deemed “fit and ready” to rejoin the squad for the upcoming match. Regarding the significant defeat against Arsenal, Lopetegui commented: “We are focused on the next challenge. I prefer to talk about tomorrow than the last match, because that’s the past now. We were disappointed.” He characterized Leicester as “very tough and demanding” opponents, further stating, “I am sure we need to show our best version to compete there.” Addressing the prospect of facing a new manager in Ruud van Nistelrooy, Lopetegui remarked: “He is a very good manager – he has shown that before and has done well in the Premier League. One of the difficulties when you face a new manager is that you don’t really know what he’s going to do.”