Reid on track for West Ham return
All Whites captain Winston Reid is on track for a return from injury in ‘‘the next week or so’’.
Reid had surgery on a shin condition in his left leg in May, forcing him to miss West Ham United’s last two matches of the English Premier League season and the national team’s participation at the Confederations Cup in June.
The 29-year-old defender, who has played 21 times for New Zealand since his debut in 2010, was with his Hammers team-mates for the first part of their pre-season preparations in Austria earlier this month and has been polishing off his rehab with the squad in Germany this week.
‘‘Hopefully in the next week or so I should be back, which we were sort of aiming for,’’ Reid told West Ham TV.
‘‘Generally, the rehab has been really good and the surgery has fixed the problem, which is the most important thing. I’ll be able to go out there and play pain-free, which is a blessing.
‘‘It was just one of those things that you get every now and then. You get various knocks and bruises and you fix them and this one has been fixed now.’’
As well as being good for West Ham, the comments are potentially good news for All Whites fans.
New Zealand’s next matches are a home-and-away World Cup qualification tie at the start of September against the Solomon Islands, with the winner advancing to an intercontinental playoff against the fifth-placed team from South America for a place at the global showcase in Russia next year.
Reid has played just three matches for the national team in the last two years and his last appearances were more than nine months ago on a two-match tour of the US, meaning any time he could get back in the squad would be valuable given the enormity of what likely awaited in a few months time.
All Whites coach Anthony Hudson told Stuff last month he was ‘‘convinced’’ his team would have their skipper back for the Solomons tie.
Not only was he feeling good physically, but Reid said he was mentally refreshed after a monthlong holiday with his wife and young twins in the US and Caribbean.
And with a little more than two weeks remaining until their Premier League season opener away to Manchester United at Old Trafford, the centreback was optimistic about what his London club could achieve in the 2017-18 season.
West Ham have had made several significant signings in recent weeks, including star Mexican striker Javier Hernandez, England goalkeeper Joe Hart, veteran Argentina defender Pablo Zabaleta and Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic.
‘‘We finished the season on a good note, apart from the Liverpool game [lost 4-0] and we really did well,’’ Reid told West Ham TV.
‘‘We hope to take that form into the new season.’’