David Moyes says he must be very careful in bringing Michail Antonio back from injury after the West Ham striker returned against Southampton.
Antonio has been troubled by hamstring issues since October but he was sent on for the final 15 minutes as the Hammers drew 0-0 on the south coast on Tuesday night.
Having brought the 30-year-old back against Aston Villa earlier this month only to lose him again soon after, Moyes says he must be steady in building up Antonio's workload.
Asked if the forward had come through the run-out unscathed, Moyes said: "Yes he has and that is a big boost. We have missed him, we have been muddling through a little bit without him, trying to find ways of getting goals from other sources if we can.
"The players have done a good job but obviously getting him back playing, we have to tread carefully with him, be patient with him."
