I can’t play – Julen Lopetegui sees funny side after injury puts him on crutches

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui is on crutches after injuring himself on the touchline during their painful Carabao Cup defeat at Liverpool.

The Spaniard hurt his calf as he jumped in frustration towards the end of an excruciating 5-1 drubbing at Anfield.

Lopetegui was hobbling gingerly around West Ham’s Rush Green training ground on Thursday and looks likely to still be using crutches when they travel to Brentford this Saturday.

While there were echoes of Jurgen Klopp pulling his hamstring while protesting a decision when Liverpool beat Tottenham last year, injury updates at press conferences are usually centred around players.

Nevertheless, Lopetegui had to admit: “I can’t play in this match, for sure.

“I have a little injury in my calf. But it’s not important. I don’t play so it’s not important.”

As for the injured players, Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug has suffered a setback in his recovery from the Achilles and calf problem which has kept him out for the last three matches.

“Fullkrug is not available until now,” he added.

“The truth is I don’t know. We thought he would be available this week but unfortunately he was not so we have to wait, but at the moment he is out.

“He has one problem in his Achilles calf. A little injury, not important, but until now he is out.”

The Anfield annihilation came hot on the heels of last weekend’s meek 3-0 home defeat by Chelsea, as questions are beginning to be raised about West Ham’s direction under the new manager.

The Hammers have lost all three matches at home and have only a scrappy win at Crystal Palace and a last-gasp draw against Fulham to show for their first five Premier League outings in a limp start to the season.

Next they travel the length of the District Line on Saturday to a ground where they have never picked up a point.

“We know we have to improve,” said Lopetegui, who will also be without Edson Alvarez in west London following the midfielder’s red card on Wednesday night.

“We are just starting. The demand is high. The Premier League is going to be long for all of us and these players are going to improve. I am sure of this.

“It’s true we need one win and we want to win the next match. The next challenge is Brentford. A very good team, a very complete team. Very strong away and especially at home.

“We have to be ready. No excuses even though we played a tough match yesterday, we have to be ready with big energy and big commitment for a very demanding match.”