David Moyes casts doubts over Michail Antonio availability for Newcastle as West Ham United news emerges
David Moyes has cast doubts over the availability of Michail Antonio for the West Ham game against Newcastle United on Sunday (8 October).
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the match against Freiburg on Thursday (5 October), the Hammers manager revealed (via Malik Ouzia) that the Jamaican international hasn’t travelled to Germany for the Europa League fixture.
He added that he is unsure whether the 33-year-old forward will be available when the Irons take on the Magpies at the London Stadium at the weekend.
A blow
It is a huge blow for West Ham to not have Antonio available for the game against Freiburg due to his importance to the team.
Although he would’ve been likely to start on the bench behind Danny Ings, Moyes would have wanted to have the Jamaican in reserve after his fellow striker has been struggling to find any real form since arriving at the London Stadium in January.
It means that the former England international is going to have to prove his worth, with 18-year-old Divin Mubama pushing for more minutes in the side.
The Irons manager will be more concerned about Antonio’s availability for the game against Newcastle after the East Londoners have had a promising start to the season.
The forward is extremely important to the way we set up and, with there not being a reliable replacement waiting in the wings, we need him to get fit ahead of the match at the weekend.
In other West Ham news, a journalist has called for one Irons gem to receive a squad upgrade.