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'Difficult situation' - Exclusive: McAvennie hopes Ogbonna injury isn't too serious
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie hopes West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna is able to recover from his groin injury as soon as possible after being forced off in the win over Fulham last week.
Ogbonna, 32, had to be taken off in the 63rd minute following a collision with team-mate Lukasz Fabianski and Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.
According to Football.London, Ogbonna had a scan on Monday to assess the injury.
Former Hammers striker McAvennie believes the international break should serve as a good period for Ogbonna to recover but if the centre-back is unable to play against Sheffield United next week, the Irons icon is hopeful his replacement can perform well.
“It would be a big blow if he was out for a while,” McAvennie told West Ham Zone. “He is West Ham’s main man at the back.
“Hopefully he can use these two weeks to recover.
“It is a shame because it looks as if Stuart Pearce’s work has really helped them.
“Whoever comes in needs to step up but they will know what to do, they will have been involved in the training anyway.
“Hopefully they will slot in seamlessly because the defence has been great recently. It is a difficult situation but there are people that can come in at West Ham.”
Ogbonna has been a rock at the heart of West Ham’s defence so far this season, helping the Hammers keep three clean sheets in his eight Premier League appearances.
The Italy defender, who unfortunately had to drop out of international duty this week, has played a key role in David Moyes’ decision to switch to a back-three which includes himself, Fabian Balbuena and Aaron Cresswell.
Stats by WyScout show that Ogbonna ranks fifth in the Premier League for the number of interceptions made this season [56]. The former Torino defender has also averaged 10.49 recoveries and 2.32 clearances per 90 minutes of league football.
Ogbonna’s been in top-class form for West Ham and we hope that he’s able to recover from his injury in time to play against Sheffield United next week.
Moyes’ men have enjoyed a superb start to the season considering the teams they have played against and after winning against Fulham, you’d expect them to build a winning run by smashing past the Blades.
In other West Ham news, Andriy Yarmolenko won’t go anywhere in January despite speculation.