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Michail Antonio suffers calf injury in West Ham United win v AEK Larneca, set for late fitness test to play v Aston Villa
Michail Antonio, Flynn Downes and Lucas Paqueta are set to undergo late fitness tests for West Ham ahead of their Premier League clash against Aston Villa.
The Hammers claimed a dominant 2-0 in over AEK Larneca in the Europa Conference League on Thursday (9 March), but had some players suffering with problems during the game.
David Moyes admitted that Antonio and Paqueta were suffering with calf injuries from during the game, while Downes got a cut on his ankle that required stitches, and according to injury expert Ben Dinnery (10 March) all three face tests to be available for Sunday’s clash at the London Stadium.
“Micky just felt his calf, but we were just making the change before he felt it, so we hope it’s nothing serious there,” he said after the game.
“Paqueta also felt his calf when he went through on goal, but hopefully, he’ll be OK.
“Flynn has got a bit of cut [on his ankle], which might need a couple of stitches or gluing back together.”
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Depth
Antonio turned in a strong performance during this game and the goals he scored are huge for his confidence and the options that Moyes has.
If he is unavailable it would be a blow, but Danny Ings has recently got himself in the goals and will have something to prove against his former club while Gianluca Scamacca is on the road back to full fitness too.
Paqueta would be a much bigger blow because he has a unique skillset in the West Ham squad with his creativity and flair, but Moyes has had success with this West Ham squad without him previously and there is plenty of depth in attacking positions to make it work.
As for Downes, his input this season has been minimal so far because he’s not been able to break into the side as a regular, but he has got great qualities and would be great to be in if the club needed to hold on to a result.
It’s a huge game in the relegation battle and a must-win, so Moyes will want his best players available.