Manuel Pellegrini has explained why Marko Arnautovic has featured sparingly for West Ham since the turn of the year and insists he will return to the playing eleven when he is ready.
Arnautovic, who has been a consistent performer for the Hammers since joining in 2017, was on the verge of making the switch to the Chinese Super League in January.
The forward was keen on a move to Shanghai SIPG, but West Ham were reluctant to sell the player and played hardball by rejected a bid.
And following the breakdown of his move to China, Arnautovic has been sparingly used by Pellegrini and has not been named in the starting eleven since February in the Premier League.
Pellegrini has explained why Arnautovic has enjoyed a limited amount of playing time by revealing he was not ready to start games due to several reasons, ranging from the collapse of his proposed move in January to sickness.
However, the Chilean insisted that Arnautovic will return to the playing eleven against Huddersfield Town on Saturday, if he is fully ready to make an impact for the team.
“I am just thinking about this season”, Pellegrini told a press conference.
“Marko was out of the team for several reasons, his mind was out when he had the China option, after that he didn’t work for one week, after that he was sick, he was going to start at Manchester City.
“If he is ready then he will return to his position.”
West Ham are currently ninth in the league table after securing 39 points from their 30 games in the Premier League so far this season.
