West Ham United in further injury blow as Craig Dawson out of Manchester United clash
West Ham United will be without central defender Craig Dawson for their trip to Manchester United on Sunday (30 October), David Moyes confirmed.
The 32-year-old has been on the sidelines with injury over the past few weeks and there was a chance that he could have returned to face the Red Devils at Old Trafford.
But the Hammers boss has since confirmed to Football London that Dawson would have to be rushed back far too soon for his liking and so he therefore won’t be available.
“Probably too soon,” Moyes said. “In an ideal world, too soon but it all depends on how my boys are looking once I get the full stuff after today.”
Angelo Ogbonna is another central defender now doubtful for the clash with a dead leg but Nayef Aguerd came through 75 minutes unscathed against Silkeborg and could be in line for his Premier League debut.
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Dawson being ruled out through injury would have been cause to hit the panic button last season but West Ham have plenty more options to choose from this time around.
Kurt Zouma and Thilo Kehrer should both be fully fit and possibly start the game if Ageurd’s fitness is a concern having been sidelined himself for such a long period of time.
That is more than enough for Moyes to be able to relax and not rush the most dependable of the club’s defenders back into the fray.
Doing so could just worsen the injury he has and that would be catastrophic for the Irons who need his impressive consistency and simplicity to keep themselves grounded in every game.
Who the defenders are up against is very up in the air with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring in midweek but Marcus Rashford is likely to be the preferred choice up front for Erik Ten Hag.