David Moyes shares injury update on West Ham duo Angelo Ogbonna & Arthur Masuaku
West Ham defensive duo Angelo Obgonna and Arthur Masuaku are both progressing well in their recoveries from injury, according to David Moyes.
The Hammers have been without Ogbonna since the FA Cup clash with Manchester United. The Italian centre half hobbled off injured in the first half. Masuaku has been out for a while and hasn’t featured since early December after having knee surgery.
As reported by the Evening Standard, Moyes had positive news about the pair as they continue on the road to recovery. He said: “Angelo is doing great, Angelo is back.
“He is in the gym regularly and he is out of his boot. We’re expecting him to start doing some running, on the Ulta-G which is the machine which takes a bit of your bodyweight off.
“I am hoping that by the end of the international break we might have him back on the grass in some capacity. There are signs that we are getting him back.
“Arthur has trained this week with the U23’s, he has trained a couple of times with me so Arthur is getting much closer to match fitness and all-around fitness generally.”
Positive signs
It’s good to hear that both Ogbonna and Masuaku are making progress. There was a lot of fear amongst fans when they were both injured initially, in particular Masuaku.
We had started to find success earlier in the season using the 5-3-2 formation, which meant Cresswell would play as a left-centre-back. Masuaku has excellent feet and is very skilful, the wing-back position was made for him.
In his absence, we have been successful with a four at the back-formation. Failing that, Ben Johnson has come in and performed well in Arthur’s spot.
Another big concern was Ogbonna. He was looking like being our Hammer of the Year, having come second last season. It was feared we could slide down the table without him in the side.
Dawson and Diop appear to have filled his void for now, but his return can’t come soon enough. The Italian oozes class, and is, without doubt, our best defender. The way Moyes is speaking it sounds as if a return this season may come too soon for him. We’ll be keeping everything crossed.
In other West Ham news, this is our predicted XI to face Manchester United.