Publications
Partners
Cape Town - West Ham United's Spanish midfielder Pedro Obiang has returned to full training after recovering from a leg injury and is targeting a competitive debut in Saturday's Premier League home game against Leicester City.
The 23-year-old joined the Hammers from Italian side Sampdoria this summer, but missed the club's opening day win against Arsenal last weekend after picking up a muscle injury last month.
"This week I was finally training with the whole squad, and I'm looking forward to giving a slight headache to the manager to show that I'm ready to play," Obiang told the club's website.
"Mainly my injury was fatigue, but I didn't realise at first. I had a little bit of pain, but I kept training and may have overdone it a bit.
"It was just as a precautionary measure that I wasn't ready for the Arsenal match. I could have been, but I feel good now, and it's all good."
Obiang's loss was teenager Reese Oxford's gain and the Spaniard recognises he may have a fight on his hands to break back into the squad.
The 16-year-old impressed with an eye-catching debut in defensive midfield against the Gunners, putting in a composed, high-energy performance that neutralised the twin threats posed by Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil.
"I'm very happy for Reece because this has happened to me before as well, as a youngster, and sometimes the misfortune for someone brings an opportunity for another, and he did exactly what he had to do," Obiang said.
"He performed very well, had a very good match.
"It was not easy to play on that pitch, against a club like Arsenal, and he is definitely going to be a player with a bright future, and might give me some difficulties to get into the squad in the future."
