West Ham United injury news as David Moyes shares Michail Antonio and Ben Johnson update ahead of Freiburg clash
West Ham United striker Michail Antonio has not travelled with the squad for Thursday’s Europa League clash against Freiburg, David Moyes has confirmed.
West Ham buoyed by their weekend Premier League win over Sheffield United travel to Germany to take on Freiburg both looking to make it successive victories in the Europa League group stages.
The Hammers boss, speaking in his Wednesday evening press conference (4 October) ahead of the game also revealed that defender Ben Johnson will also miss the game due to a small injury picked up.
Moyes said:
“Michail Antonio hasn’t travelled. He has an injury. Aaron Cresswell is still out and Ben Johnson has picked up a little injury as well.”
Antonio hope
West Ham United fans may look at Moyes’ update with worry but given Antonio’s recent history with injuries and his current ability to play within a heavy turnover of games, there’s the hope that him remaining in the UK is to keep him fresh form Sunday’s crucial game against Newcastle United.
The Jamaican international is so crucial to Moyes and his West Ham team and the speed and aggression at which he plays means he simply cannot feature in two games within three days so it’s a smart decision from the Hammers boss.
Freiburg is certainly a tough place to go as the best teams in Germany have found out already and while Antonio could well have been useful, Moyes still has some quality options available and it’s up to Danny Ings to prove his worth given his recent struggles.
Johnson has hardly featured so far this season but this new injury is a serious blow given him trying to prove himself to Moyes too.
The Rush Green academy product could well be facing his last few months in a West Ham United shirt because when he’ll likely feature again after this is incredibly uncertain.
In other West Ham news, a senior man has reacted badly to his manager’s decision and is now set to leave the club in the near future.