Spotted: West Ham United forward Michail Antonio limps off injured in Jamaica v Canada friendly
West Ham forward Michail Antonio was forced off injured inside 20 minutes of the CONCACAF Nations League clash between Jamaica and Canada.
Footage shared on social media by MG Sports Media showed Antonio limping down the tunnel early on in Saturday’s (18 November) contest.
As reported by Claret & Hugh [18 November], there is not yet any indication how long Antonio is facing out, but it is “bad news” nonetheless.
The 33-year-old has started 11 of West Ham’s 12 Premier League games this season, while coming off the substitutes’ bench in the other.
Worst possible timing
Many have been calling for Antonio to make way from the side for a while now, and they may just have got their wish.
As it turns out, David Moyes dropped the forward against Nottingham Forest prior to the international break after some lacklustre performances.
But Antonio is clearly a favourite of Moyes, and he does at least provide a good option from the bench going forward when United need to change things.
If this injury is anything serious, though, Moyes and West Ham will have to make do without the former Nottingham Forest ace for some time.
West Ham are already fairly depleted in that area of the pitch, so this has to be considered a big blow, regardless of your opinion of Antonio.
It has also come at arguably the worst possible time, as United have 11 games across three competitions to come before 2 January.
That may make for some restless nights for Moyes as he prepares his side for the first of those matches – a trip to Burnley next Saturday (25 November).
In other West Ham news, another first-team regular has shared an image on social media following a “terrible” incident on Friday (17 November).