West Ham boost as Fulham striker limps off injured minutes after 'brilliant' goal

West Ham could face a Fulham side without striker Rodrigo Muniz at the London Stadium next week in Graham Potter’s first Premier League match in charge of the Hammers.

The Brazilian started the Cottagers’ FA Cup clash with Watford on Thursday evening and found himself on the scoresheet in the first half as the London side claimed a 4-1 victory over their Championship opponents. Firing home an instinctive finish, LondonWorld labelled that effort ‘brilliant’ in an 8/10 performance from the striker.

We wrote: ”Took his goal with aplomb, that was a brilliant finish. Was invigorated for a spell after that until Watford equalised, then lost influence again. Appeared to be holding his back at half time and was replaced by Raul Jimenez after the break.”

Rodrigo Muniz picks up knock against Watford

That goal was the player’s fourth of the season, and third since the start of December, as he starts to find form having had to compete for a starting berth with Raul Jimenez. Muniz may have already been thinking ahead to facing a porous West Ham defence on Tuesday night but now looks set to be a doubt for that match.

The striker could be seen having a conversation with Fulham boss Marco Silva as he headed down the tunnel at half-time, clutching his back. He was then replaced by Jimenez at the break, unable to continue.

Speaking after the match, Silva said: “Yes unfortunately he got a small issue close to half time. It was a great goal from him, a great finish. It wasn’t easy and the way he did it was a proper striker finish in that situation. It’s really difficult for the goalkeeper to stop it.

“Unfortunately he felt something in his back close to half time and it was impossible for him to continue in the second half. We have to assess him tomorrow and see how he’s going to be.”

New West Ham manager Potter will take charge of his first match on Friday night against Aston Villa. The trip to Villa Park is an FA Cup third round tie before his work in the Premier League begins next week.

Graham Potter sets out West Ham mission

The Hammers sit 14th in the table after a rocky 20 fixtures under Julen Lopetegui. After the visit of Fulham on Tuesday, Potter will take on Crystal Palace, and Aston Villa again before the end of January.

The former Chelsea and Brighton man is tasked with finding a consistency that has eluded West Ham so far this season. Speaking in his first press conference on Thursday, Potter said: "There’s a recent history of success here, and that’s what we want to work towards. It’s only my first day, so meeting the players and preparing for tomorrow’s match against Aston Villa is the main focus right now. But, in my experience, I think that if you can build a team that is recognisable on the pitch, that the supporters can identify with and be proud of, you can get trust between the squad and the fans, which is key.

"We need to show personality, togetherness, fight and quality, because we know the supporters will buy into that and then they’ll give us everything. That’s the job. Having everyone aligned in terms of what we want to achieve, how we want to play football and how we use the resources we have is really important. I want us all to enjoy the journey, and to be excited about it."