John Hartson hails ‘excellent’ West Ham United star Nayef Aguerd minutes before he leaves pitch in tears
Nayef Aguerd put on a brilliant display for Morocco against Spain on Tuesday afternoon, but the West Ham defender was forced off with an injury late on.
Aguerd started for Morocco in their last 16 clash against Spain, and managed to keep the 2010 champions quiet until the 83rd minute when he was sadly substituted due to injury.
The 26-year-old was superb defensively and was labelled “excellent” by ITV commentator John Hartson for his brilliant last-ditch tackle against Alvaro Morata.
“There was an awful lot to do but he gave Aguerd a chance. It’s still a great tackle,” Hartson said via ITV (4:25pm).
“When you go to ground in the box as a defender you’ve got to take the ball – you’ve got to be positive you’ll take the ball.
“It’s excellent from Aguerd.”
However, the West Ham defender hurt himself during the tackle and was immediately spotted limping afterwards. He held on until the 83rd minute but was eventually substituted by manager Walid Regragui.
Aguerd left the pitch in tears but was able to walk off after refusing a stretcher.
Defensive woes
David Moyes has even more defensive woes to worry about. It’s just 20 days until the Hammers return to Premier League action and yet the squad’s defensive depth is looking incredibly thin.
Kurt Zouma is recovering from surgery he underwent over the break, Craig Dawson could leave in January after openly speaking about his desire to move back up north [The Athletic], and now Aguerd finds himself sidelined with injury.
Hopefully Aguerd’s injury isn’t long-term, but Moyes will be awaiting the verdict with bated breath. The £30million summer signing [Sky Sports] struggled to settle in east London after his move, but his promising World Cup performances were filling Hammers fans with hope that he could carry his form back to England.
West Ham desperately need to turn things around in the Premier League after a poor start to the season, and a flurry of injuries will be exactly what Moyes would’ve been hoping to avoid this month.
If Aguerd’s injury does turn out to be major then West Ham could be forced to dip into the January market to strengthen the defence.