Moyes speaks out on potential training ground red flag, with three players affected
David Moyes has spoken about the illness issue that left him without three key players for the Premier League clash against Manchester City, as reported by The Athletic.
Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek, and Nayef Aguerd were absent from the encounter at the Etihad Stadium due to a stomach bug.
Moyes detailed a suspected outbreak of food poisoning, picked up at Rush Green or at the team hotel, prior to the midweek fixture.
The Scotsman detailed how his side’s plans were impacted on matchday, but it also provided an insight into life without Rice, with the captain widely expected to depart the London Stadium, this summer.
“I knew in the morning there had been sickness and one of them had a real high temperature,” he said.
“One of them had to go away at 11am and the other two left at 2pm, once they weren’t going to get any better.
“We had given them a chance in the morning to recover, sleep longer, see how they were. They were in Manchester with the rest of the team so we had to send them away in cars later this afternoon to go home.
“We are not sure if it is maybe a bit of food poisoning that they have maybe picked up at the training ground or whether it was at the hotel.”
Final push
After 34 games played this season, the Hammers have the same number of points.
Crucially, a four-point gap separates Moyes’ men from the relegation zone with just four games remaining. The sooner the next win comes, the better as that will go a long way toward securing the club’s Premier League status for another campaign.
In between the last fixtures, is the ongoing European journey with a shot at glory on the horizon. There is so much for the Irons to play for in the coming weeks, requiring a massive, final push.
The trio of Rice, Soucek, and Aguerd are very likely to return for the visit of Manchester United on Sunday, followed by AZ Alkmaar next Thursday.
In particular, the skipper will be a crucial asset as well as a driving force, if the season is to have a successful conclusion.
In other West Ham news, the club is to go in for England international signing in the summer, he could be tempted into a deal according to this report.