West Ham United star Jarrod Bowen is likely to be involved in the Europa Conference League clash with Anderlecht despite suffering a 'gruesome' injury just a matter of days earlier at the London Stadium, according to journalist Paul Brown.
There have been doubts over whether the winger, who made the £22million move from Championship side Hull City in January 2020, will be in a position to feature in Belgium on Thursday.
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What's the latest news involving Bowen's injury?
Bowen grabbed his first goal of the Premier League campaign when West Ham sealed a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.
But the 25-year-old's goalscoring performance came at a cost as he suffered a nasty-looking finger injury a matter of minutes later.
However, hopes of Bowen being involved in the Europa Conference League group stage encounter with Anderlecht have improved as he was spotted training with two fingers taped together ahead of boarding the flight to Belgium.
It seems the four-cap England international will at least be named on the bench by West Ham boss David Moyes at Lotto Park.
That is because Maxwel Cornet and Nayef Aguerd are the only senior stars who are understood to be unavailable.
What has Paul Brown said about Bowen?
Brown believes Hammers chief Moyes will be prepared to include Bowen in his squad against Anderlecht after playing a role in training sessions ahead of the latest European outing.
The journalist is expecting the wide-man to play his part in Belgium as West Ham seek another three points.
Brown told GIVEMESPORT: "Initially, he spoke about the finger injury as being pretty bad and it looks quite gruesome in the pictures.
"But Bowen, I understand, has trained and had the finger strapped up. If he's training, it would suggest that they're willing to give him a go.
"I think he probably will feature at some point. There isn't really much point West Ham messing about because they need wins."
Will Bowen's inclusion be a big boost for West Ham?
West Ham have made the trip over to Anderlecht sitting two points clear at the top of Europa Conference League Group B and sealing another victory would put them firmly in the driving seat to progress to the knockout stages.
Bowen played a key role in the east Londoners qualifying for another European adventure by registering 24 goal contributions in the Premier League last season, which enabled his current employers to finish seventh.
Having found the back of the net in the Europa Conference League qualifying round first leg win over Viborg in August, he also got his name on the scoresheet in the group stage opener against FCSB.
It is clear that having Bowen, who was called up to the England squad last month, available will be a major boost for Moyes.