WEST HAM KEY STAR HAS 50% CHANCE OF BEING FIT FOR UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE SECOND-LEG TIE WITH EINTRACHT FRANKFURT.

West Ham ace Ben Johnson has a 50/50 chance of being fit to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Europa League semi-final second-leg on Thursday night.

The 22-year-old played against the Bundesliga side at the London Stadium in the first-leg last week.

Johnson missed our defeat to Arsenal yesterday with what David Moyes described as a thigh strain, however.

The young full-back has established himself as a key player for the Hammers this season.

He is now considered to be one of the first names one David Moyes’ team-sheet.

Johnson is undoubtedly our best full-back from a defensive perspective and whilst his final product still needs a lot of improvement, he is a hugely exciting young talent.

The 22-year-old has become a vitally important figure for the East London outfit over the past 12 months or so.

It seems as though it’s touch and go whether he’ll be ready for our return leg against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night though…

Hammers insiders Claret and Hugh reckon that Ben Johnson only has a 50% chance of making the Europa League game later on this week.

If he isn’t fit, Vladimir Coufal Weill slot in at right-back with Aaron Cresswell at left-back.

Coufal seems to be getting back to somewhere near his best, so we should be able to cope without Johnson.

Losing him for the game against the German side will still be a very big blow nonetheless.

Hopefully Johnsons’s thigh strain isn’t too serious and he returns to action for the Hammers sooner rather than later.

Having the West Ham ace unavailable for the Eintracht Frankfurt UEFA Europa League semi-final second-leg clash will be a big blow for us.

However, it wont be one that’s insurmountable. David Moyes will have full faith in Coufal’s ability to come in a do a good job against the Germans.