West Ham concern over Kurt Zouma after awkward fall v Kidderminster
The return from injury for Kurt Zouma has boosted West Ham but they could face more time without the Frenchman after Saturday’s game against Kidderminster.
The 27-year-old fell awkwardly after rolling his foot over the ball in the FA Cup triumph but carried on as David Moyes had no subs left to use.
He struggled for the rest of the game but the Hammers found a way to win against their non-league opposition after extra time.
Moyes had believed that Zouma’s injury wasn’t anything to be worried about but according to an insider, speaking to Claret and Hugh, it is still too early to tell the extent of the damage done.
“It’s too early to say but it was his ‘bad’ knee that was damaged,” the insider said.
No risk
Zouma is a player who has suffered big injuries before and he needs to be very careful in his path to full match fitness again.
Moyes has to take the cautious path with the Frenchman on Tuesday when Watford visit the London Stadium in the Premier League and rest him unless absolutely necessary.
He is likely to need a scan on his knee before that game but it would certainly be beneficial for the club to continue with Craig Dawson and Issa Diop at the heart of the defence.
The latter of those, however, looked like Bambi on ice against Kidderminster and was rightly substituted at half-time by Moyes who couldn’t risk him causing further problems in defence.
That has meant that Zouma played all 120 on the uneven surface and that might be too much for him to feature in the league on Tuesday.
If Moyes is wise, he will allow Zouma a longer rest and trust in Diop and Dawson again against Roy Hodgson’s Hornets.
In other West Ham news, the Irons may be tempted to move for this EFL star who saw a January move to the Premier League fall through on deadline day.