West Ham trying to look after Declan Rice – David Moyes
David Moyes has admitted he is doing all he can to protect West Ham United’s star midfielder Declan Rice from burnout.
The England international did not start for the Hammers in a 1-0 win against RSC Anderlecht in the UEFA Conference League fixture on Thursday, 06 October. He came as a substitute in the 69th minute, replacing midfielder Manuel Lanzini.
Talking with the media ahead of the Irons league fixture against Fulham on Sunday, 09 October, Moyes stated that he is trying to “look after” Rice for the club.
“He [Rice] had a night off last night [against Anderlecht],” he said. “We don’t use him all the games. But I think the point is Declan played two games for England last week with a Premier League game as well.
“So we are trying to look after him for West Ham. We are trying to get in the right condition for us as much as we possibly can.”
Crucial player
West Ham had a slow start to their 2022/23 season but things are now looking much better after consecutive wins against Wolves in the league and against Anderlecht in Europe.
During the lean patch, one of the players who stood tall for the club on the pitch was Rice who showed amazing leadership skills.
Therefore, it makes total sense for Moyes to protect the England international as much as possible because his participation is pivotal for the Hammers to secure a similar league finish as they had over the last couple of seasons.
Rice is the Irons’ academy product and was promoted to the club’s senior team in the summer of 2017.
Since then, he has represented his current club in 206 matches across all competitions where he has managed to score 10 times and provided 12 assists in the process [Transfermarkt].
In the ongoing campaign, Rice has represented the side in 11 matches across all competitions where he has managed to score two goals.