McAvennie delivers verdict on Ogbonna absense from West Ham defence
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
West Ham might have to wait until they play Leicester on April 11 before Angelo Ogbonna is able to play for them again.
The 32-year-old has been out of action since the goalless draw at Fulham on February 6 due to an ankle injury and might still be two weeks away from fully recovering.
According to Claret & Hugh, there is a “growing confidence” among West Ham’s medical staff that Ogbonna should be fit to play against Leicester next month. If not, it’s a certainty he’ll be back to play Newcastle at St James’ Park on April 17.
In Ogbonna’s absence over the last six games, West Ham have come out as winners on three occasions and have managed to keep two clean sheets.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with West Ham Zone, ex-Hammers striker Frank McAvennie claimed there’s not been much of a difference without Ogbonna but says the 3-3 draw with Arsenal this month was unacceptable.
“They’ve not been bad, I can’t say they’ve been defensively bad since Ogbonna dropped out,” McAvennie said.
“I don’t want to criticise the defence after losing three goals against Arsenal but I don’t want to praise them either,”
“However it was awful to lose three goals. No team should lose three goals. Just look at how West Ham did it with Tottenham.
“It might have been a good time for this international break because it could have got in their heads. It’ll be forgotten about by the time they come back.”
Ogbonna has been a stand-out performer at the London Stadium this season.
The former Torino and Juventus centre-back has made 25 appearances in all competitions and forged strong partnerships with Craig Dawson and Fabian Balbuena.
Issa Diop has stepped in while Ogbonna has been injured in recent weeks and based on how results have not taken a downward turn, Moyes might end up keeping his faith in the Frenchman.
Ogbonna’s not played for almost two months and if he isn’t back until the game against Newcastle, his absence may stretch to 10 weeks.
With just six Premier League matches to play after the Newcastle game, will Moyes opt to stick with the defensive line that has done well in recent weeks or twist by throwing Ogbonna back in at the expense of Diop?
It’s a big decision but Moyes hasn’t steered us wrong yet and we trust whatever decision he makes.
In other West Ham news, Diop has turned into a valuable player in Moyes’ defence.