The Ivorian has been is excellent form this season and has forged a solid partnership with Vincent Kompany, but his early departure against Bolton suggested he may miss some of the upcoming festive programme.
Those fears, however, have been proved unfounded, much to Kolo’s relief.
“I felt tightness in my calf so as a precaution I came off, but it’s not looking as bad as we first thought and I’m hoping I will be available for selection for West Ham on Saturday,” he said.
“Obviously if there is even the slightest doubt, I will maybe rest it for a few more days, but as things stand, it’s not looking too bad.”
Kolo is looking forward to the trip to East London and says West Ham away is one of his favourite fixtures.
“It’s going to be a tough game, but Upton Park is a ground I’ve always enjoyed playing at,” he said.
“It should be a good game and we will be looking to extend our unbeaten run to eight games. The consistency is coming, but we still need to take each game as it comes and not think that because we are playing the team at the bottom of the table that things will be easier.
In fact, I think the wins will be harder to come by because we are riding high near the top and the teams we play will be more cautious and treat us a bigger scalp
...Kolo Toure
“We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing in the last month and be more focused than ever.
“There are teams playing each other around us but we mustn’t think of them – just what we have to do. The season is very long and neither this nor the next weekend will decide who wins the Premier League – we need to remain unbeaten for as long as possible because then it becomes part of your mentality.
“We will treat West Ham the same as we would another team from the top four.”
