---
title: "West Ham given fitness boost with Rice available – will that alter Everton’s plans?"
canonical: "https://readeverton.com/west-ham-given-fitness-boost-with-rice-available-will-that-alter-evertons-plans/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Elliott Cuff"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2019-10-18T07:00:22Z"
modified: "2019-10-18T07:00:22Z"
---

# West Ham given fitness boost with Rice available – will that alter Everton’s plans?

West Ham have been given a fitness boost with Declan Rice fit to face Everton on Saturday.

The England international had been suffering from a virus that forced him to miss training on international duty, although he was still able to make the substitutes bench against Bulgaria.

[Standard Sport report](https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/westham/west-ham-midfielder-declan-rice-available-for-everton-clash-after-shaking-off-virus-a4264146.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1571314648) that the midfielder will be ready to face the Toffees this weekend, as Marco Silva looks to rebuild his reputation on Merseyside.

![Catherine Ivill/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readeverton.com/readeverton/2019/10/1179248835.jpg)

The Hammers will be without [Lukasz Fabianski](https://readwestham.com/2019/10/12/fabianski-out-for-three-months-after-successful-surgery-huge-loss-for-the-hammers/) though, who will miss up to three months after going under the knife to fix a hip issue.

Silva will be under a mountain of pressure as his side face Manuel Pellegrini’s team on Saturday afternoon, with the Everton boss desperately needing a win to curtail some of the calls for his head form the Everton fan base.

Rice’s availability won’t be seen as a hammer blow to Silva’s hopes, but the Portuguese coach would have hoped that he wouldn’t be able to feature.

### Read Everton Verdict

While I don’t want to sound overly negative, I don’t feel too confident going into Saturday’s game against the Hammers. Everton have a lot to do, and West Ham have only lost once in their last five games, meaning they’ll be the favourites for this clash.

Rice being absent would have helped, but ultimately I think it will come down to whether Everton have what it takes to rise to the occasion. I don’t think West Ham will be Everton’s undoing if the Toffees lose, they will inevitably be the architects of their own downfall.

Hopefully both Silva and the playing squad have had ample time to prepare during the international break, and will be best placed to tackle the Hammers. Otherwise, it’s going to be yet another week of dourness and negativity on the Blue half of Merseyside.