David Moyes is confident that centre-back Nayef Aguerd will feature for West Ham United before the 2022 World Cup begins next month.
The 26-year-old is yet to make his competitive debut for the Hammers since his £30m summer transfer from Rennes due to an ankle injury sustained in pre-season.
Aguerd has since stepped up his recovery and has begun light training on the grass ahead of featuring for the Under-21s in the coming weeks to build up his match fitness.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of West Ham's Premier League clash against Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday, Moyes provided a positive update on the Morocco international.
"It is really good news that Nayef is on his way back," Moyes told reporters. "We brought him in as a key player, so for him to get injured in pre-season is very difficult for us.
"He is very close. He has started training. He is not fully integrated yet with the [other] players but he is getting close to playing.
"I think he will definitely feature before the World Cup. I couldn't tell you if that is one week's time or two weeks' time because he has had no match practice yet. He has not been involved in the Premier league yet.
"It is more likely that we will look to get him games in Europe or Under-21s games before we start considering him for the Premier League."
Moyes has also provided an update on defensive duo Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson, who are both doubtful for Wednesday's clash, while Maxwel Cornet remains sidelined with a calf strain.
Zouma and Dawson missed the 1-1 draw at Southampton last weekend, with the former absent due to illness and the latter suffering with a dead leg.
"Kurt has done a little bit of training but I don't know if it is going to make him right yet," Moyes added." Craig Dawson we are unsure about.
"[Cornet] has had a little bit of a calf strain. He is getting close, probably going to train this week but he is not [ready for Liverpool]."
The potential absences of Zouma and Dawson could see Angelo Ogbonna handed a start at centre-back alongside Thilo Kehrer and Ben Johnson in a back three.
Ogbonna, who spent around nine months on the sidelines with an ACL injury last season, picked up a minor hamstring problem in the Europa Conference League win over Anderlecht last week, but he returned to the bench against Southampton.
Aaron Cresswell began in the back three against the Saints and he remains an option for Moyes on the left side, with Emerson Palmieri available to operate at left wing-back.
West Ham, who currently sit 12th in the Premier League table, head into Wednesday's clash with Liverpool after winning six and drawing one of their last eight games in all competitions, and a victory an Anfield could see them climb to as high as seventh place. body check tags ::
