According to The Evening Standard, West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic is now fit to face Newcastle on Saturday.
Newcastle will host The Hammers at St James Park, and were hopeful the opposition would be without their star man.
The Austrian limped off the pitch in a 4-0 defeat to Man City at the weekend, and has struggled with a hip injury during the week.
There were fears from The Hammers camp that he would not be fit to face the Magpies, but this is now thought not to be the case.
Arnautovic has returned to full training and will now likely be up for selection on Saturday. The 29 year old is undoubtedly one of West Ham’s best players this season and his quick recovery could be bad news for Newcastle.
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Arnautovic threat
After six seasons in the Premier League, Arnautovic is finally starting to find the net with more regularity. The Austrian is West Ham’s top scorer this season with five goals.
He has already hit 16 goals for the club in just over a year, despite only scoring 22 times in four seasons with Stoke.
Without him, West Ham are seriously devoid of fire power.
Even in a 4-0 loss to Man City, Arnautovic looked dangerous.
Despite the score line, he caused plenty of problems for City, helping create several chances for his teammates. Had it not been for the poor finishing of Michail Antonio, the final result could have been very different.
Although Newcastle’s defence have been phenomenal this season, Arnautovic seems to worry even the sturdiest of defenders.
If he plays, it will be another tough test for Rafa Benitez’s defensive line.
Arnautovic vs Newcastle
When playing for Stoke, Arnautovic had a great record versus Newcastle. In four games against the Toon, he won three and drew one.
But that all changed when he went to West Ham.
Newcastle pulled off a 3-2 victory against The Hammers away from home last season, giving Arnautovic his first taste of defeat from The Magpies.
However he still made his presence known on the day.
The striker found the net in just six minutes after he pounced on a terrible loose pass from Henri Saivet.
He showed great composure to beat centre back Ciaran Clark and then neatly finished beyond Rob Elliot. Newcastle new boys Federico Fernandez and Fabian Schar will be hoping no such errors occur at the weekend.
The centre-back pairing have been in terrific form and they wont want to give the striker an easy time.
But considering their recent performances, they’ll fancy themselves to keep Arnautovic at bay,