By Saikat Mandal

17th Nov, 2022 | 9:10am

West Ham United could be set for Kurt Zouma knee injury blow

West Ham could suffer a major injury blow after Kurt Zouma appeared to have aggravated his knee injury, as suggested by Ben Dinnery.

The Sky Sports injury analyst said to Give Me Sport (16 November) that it was a risky decision taken by David Moyes, and given his previous injury problems, it appears as if it’s “reared its ugly head.”

The defender was taken off in the 15th minute in the 2-0 defeat against Leicester City on 12 November at the London Stadium, prior to the World cup break.

“It’s that risk and reward scenario. The decision was taken to let him go and play. We know, historically, he’s had that problematic knee issue, so it looks as if it’s reared its ugly head,” said Dinnery to Give Me Sport.

Fingers crossed

Zouma has been a key player for the Hammers since joining the club in 2021 from Chelsea. 

The 28-year-old has made 14 appearances in the Premier League this season and has been a constant presence at the back. Losing him for a long spell would be a huge blow for the club. 

Moyes does have options at the back, though, with Nayef Aguerd likely to be featuring regularly after the World Cup break. The summer signing has recently returned from a long injury lay-off, and unless he picks up another injury, should be fully fit to play regularly in the second half of the season.

Summer signing Thilo Kehrer is another option for Moyes, while Craig Dawson is still showing no signs of ageing. 

Zouma looked uncomfortable during the warm-up prior to the match, and it was a risky decision taken by Moyes to play him. Moyes felt that the Frenchman could pull it off, but he lasted only 15 minutes on the pitch. 

This is not the first time Zouma had trouble with his knee. He faced knee problems at Chelsea and Stoke City and even sustained a serious ACL injury as well. 

Let’s hope that his injury is not serious and that he can return to the squad after the World Cup.