Lee Bowyer has brought West Ham some good news at last by putting himself in line to face Tottenham at Upton Park on Sunday after making his comeback from a dislocated shoulder.
The former Charlton, Leeds and Newcastle midfielder, who was brought through the youth team ranks at The Valley by West Ham manager Alan Curbishley, played the full 90 minutes of a reserve game against Charlton’s second string on Monday night – having been sidelined since the 6-0 defeat by Reading on New Year’s Day.
Bowyer missed a good chance to turn the 1-1 draw into a win for the Hammers who are still seeking their first reserve league victory after 11 attempts this season but coach Steve Brown was delighted by his overall performance.
Brown, the former Charlton defender, said: “It was good to see Lee get through the entire 90 minutes, and I thought he looked sharp and hungry. No matter how much training you do, you can never replicate the experience of a competitive game, and Lee will have gained valuable match-fitness from the game.”
Veteran striker Teddy Sheringham and on-loan Spaniard Kepa Blanco also played in the match at non-league Gravesend and Northfleet’s ground.
But it was decided not to risk £7.5m (€11.1m) striker Dean Ashton, who has been out since August with a broken ankle, and £6m (€8.9m) defender Matthew Upton, who damaged a calf muscle in his West Ham debut against Aston Villa earlier this month, even though both are back in training.
The visit to Blackburn on March 17 is seen by Curbishley as a more likely date for the pair’s return to first-team action when full-back Lucas Neill could also be fit, after a knee injury, to face his former team.
Bowyer’s availability will be a welcome tonic for the manager, however, as he confronts multiple problems which came to a head when Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing at Charlton extended his record of Premiership matches without a win to 10 matches.
26 February 2007
Dean Ashton has been forced to wait a little longer for his West Ham return after the club decided he will not play in tonight’s reserve-team match at Gravesend and Northfleet.
The 23-year-old had been tipped to feature for the first time since breaking his ankle during an England training session prior to the start of the season.
But the former Norwich striker will instead be rested after recently intensifying his rehabilitation from the injury.
Head physiotherapist Steve Allen told club website www.whufc.com: “Dean has undergone some intensive treatment recently and stepped up his level of rehab, and we are delighted with the progress he has made. He has worked particularly hard on the training field and, for that reason, we don’t believe it would be in his best interests to play in tonight’s reserve team match. At this stage, his rest and recovery is just as important as the intensive work he is carrying out, and we look forward to him continuing his progress towards full fitness.”
19 February 2007
Gravesend & Northfleet have extended the loan spell of Southend winger Joel Ledgister for two further months.
The 19-year-old has spent the last month at Stonebridge Road, making four appearances and scoring the winning goal in the recent win over Morecambe.
He will now remain with Liam Daish's side until 21 April.
Ledgister has come up through the youth ranks at Roots Hall, but is still awaiting his competitive debut for Southend's first team.
