West Ham United playmaker Dimitri Payet could start against Liverpool on Saturday after nearly two months out with an ankle injury, manager Slaven Bilic revealed on Thursday.
The France midfielder, 28, was expected to be sidelined until February after damaging ankle ligaments in the 1-1 draw with Everton on Nov. 7, but he has recovered ahead of schedule. Bilic:
“Is he in contention to start? Yes.
“He is back, he’s been training with us for a couple of days and depending on how he does today, I’m expecting him to be in the squad and available for the game.
“We will see how much he is going to participate in the game, but he is back and it’s a great boost for us.”
Payet made an impressive start to life in England after signing from Marseille, scoring five goals and supplying three assists in his first 12 Premier League matches before injury derailed him.
His form helped West Ham rise to the Champions League places, but they went eight games without victory prior to Monday’s 2-1 win over Southampton.
