West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has insisted he will not rush Manuel Lanzini back into the fold following his long injury lay-off.
The Argentine playmaker ruptured his ACL just six days before the World Cup whilst on international duty and has been out of action for over six months.
But he impressed on his comeback when coming on as a late substitute against Fulham on Friday.
Nevertheless, the midfielder is likely to be on the bench again when the Hammers head to Manchester City on Wednesday night.
“We must be careful with him,” said Pellegrini.
“He played 15 minutes and did very well.
“The important thing is he is not afraid of playing or worried about his knee, so we will try to give him more minutes in every game.
“He is fine, but we must be careful with the way we improve his minutes to avoid a muscle injury.”
Lanzini has become a fan favourite since his move to east London from UAE Gulf League side Al Jazira in 2016 – and this was telling due to the jubilant reaction of the Hammers fans when he was called upon in the match on Friday,
West Ham are enjoying a season of improvement under Pellegrini – and the return of Lanzini, who has scored 13 goals in 63 Premier League appearances for the club, will be a lovely added bonus for the Chilean.