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West Ham United have been given a timely boost from striker Diafra Sakho, who has stated he feels he’s ready to return to the first-team fold.

The Hammers’ defeat to Hull City at the weekend was their fourth-straight loss in the Premier League and Slaven Bilic’s side face a stern test on Wednesday, as they travel across London to chase Champions League hopefuls Arsenal.

Sakho, who has spent the last four months absent following surgery on a longstanding back issue, recently returned to training and is hoping to make an impact in the coming weeks- although the midweek London derby is a step too soon.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Sakho discussed the long and testing journey he has been on to return to fitness and spoke about his aims for the remainder of the season.

“When I arrived in England, I had a back problem which has been troubling me until now. I needed a back operation, but I kept saying no. I did finally have one in December and now it’s much better.”

“I feel I’m ready to play. I’ve already asked to play before, but I think the medical team wanted to protect me, so that I could do a bit more work in the gym and on the training pitch individually.”

“I have now resumed training with the first team and want to play in early April.”

“It’s always hard to work on your own because you’re less motivated. It’s mental strength that gives you extra desire and when you see your teammates out training, you want to give even more.”

“I’m coming to the end of the tunnel, so I think I’m making good progress.”

Prior to his injury absence, Sakho made two Premier League appearances and scored in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United in November.