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Manuel Pellegrini hopeful of good news vs Fulham after warm-weather camp – report

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West Ham United are heading to Malaga for a mini warm-weather training camp that Manuel Pellegrini hopes will help Manuel Lanzini and Fabian Balbuena return to fitness ahead of the London Derby with Fulham.

Lanzini is yet to feature under Pellegrini after rupturing his Cruciate Ligament ahead of the 2018 World Cup, while Balbuena has been out of action since December with a knee injury of his own.

Before that, the 27-year-old summer addition proved to be one of West Ham’s best signings in recent windows, as he cut a valuable figure at the back alongside fellow arrivals Issa Diop and Lukasz Fabianski.

As for the Argentine, West Ham fans have been longing for his creative input to return, as the 25-year-old played a part in 29 games for the Hammers last season, scoring five and creating nine to bring his club goal contribution to 35 in 99.

Pellegrini expects the duo to be in line for a spot in his matchday squad to face Fulham in some capacity, and Marko Arnautovic could start against the Craven Cottage outfit having sat out Saturday’s draw at Crystal Palace until the 68th minute.

Speaking on the warm-weather training camp in Malaga this week, the Chilean noted: “I said after we lost at Wimbledon that we wanted to continue in the FA Cup, that was our intention, but we couldn’t do it, and in another way it is good for some players that are playing too many games.

“We continue with eight players injured, so I think this stop next weekend will be very useful for us.

“We are not going to go on holiday. We are going to work there, maybe in better weather than here.”

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