West Ham Centre-Back Jose Fonte Vows to Return From Injury Stronger Than Ever
![West Ham Centre-Back Jose Fonte Vows to Return From Injury Stronger Than Ever West Ham Centre-Back Jose Fonte Vows to Return From Injury Stronger Than Ever](https://www.si.com/.image/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/MTY4MTA0NTM2MjQ1NDEzMjQ4/5a01c473d915b2aa13000001jpg.jpg)
West Ham and Portugal centre-back Jose Fonte has told Hammers fans' he will return from his recent ankle surgery fresher and stronger than ever.
Fonte sustained the injury in his side's 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace and looks set to miss between two to three months, but hopes to help his side's plight when he makes his potential return next year.
![5a01ca752ee40f420f000001.jpg](https://www.si.com/.image/t_share/MTY4MTA0NTM2MjQ1ODcyMDAw/5a01ca752ee40f420f000001jpg.jpg)
Speaking to West Ham's official club website, he said: "Obviously I'm disappointed and frustrated because it was an unnecessary tackle (which caused the injury).
"That's part of football and now it's time to focus on returning after the surgery on Monday and having a good recovery so I can be back as soon as possible."
After West Ham's 4-1 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday, the Hammers now sit 18th in the Premier League and are without a Premier League win since the end of September.
Hmmmphhh...
— Forever Blowing Bubbles (@WestHamPro) November 5, 2017
We lost 4-1 at home to Liverpool yesterday. What went wrong exactly?#COYI
The defeat turned out to be Slaven Bilic's last in charge at the Olympic Stadium, as David Moyes was today announced as the new West Ham manager.
With a spell now on the sidelines, the former Southampton defender hopes to prove his fitness to the new manager and regain his place at the heart of West Ham's defence.
Fonte continued: "Now I've had the surgery, I will have to wear a cast for two weeks, then a boot for two weeks and finally a brace for two weeks, so that's six weeks. Then after that it's getting back my fitness levels.
"I'm not scared of working hard, so I'll put the hard work in. We have great physios and great doctors at the club, so we'll be working hard together to be back stronger and fresher."