WHZ View: Moyes must avoid Michail Antonio mistake in West Ham clash v Stockport
West Ham United forward Michail Antonio is finally coming back into the fold after his injury at the London Stadium.
Sebastien Haller has stepped in during his absence and has massively struggled in the Premier League this season.
With the FA Cup coming up, David Moyes will be scratching his head over what his starting XI will be – with the possibility of utilising some under-23 players.
Moyes must avoid the mistake of starting Antonio.
We have been down this road before, where the Irons striker has come back to early from his hamstring problems and has been forced back onto the medical bench immediately.
After the Everton game, Moyes spoke to the media and shared an update on Antonio, and how his progression is going.
“We’re trying to build Micky up and I thought his influence was big when he came on,” he told the East London Guardian.
With a so-called easy FA Cup clash against Stockport on Monday evening, Moyes could see this as a great opportunity to give Antonio the chance to build his fitness again.
This is a massive mistake.
Antonio has only completed 44 minutes of action in the past two games with Southampton and Everton, and he certainly isn’t ready to start from the beginning.
The 30-year-old should be ready to start when the Premier League returns against Burnley, and he could be unleashed on the Clarets with another week’s break.
There are no question marks around Antonio being the number-one choice, after all, he has scored the same number of goals as Haller despite playing 360 minutes fewer.
Moyes must not be tempted by this Stockport game, and leave Antonio at home.
In other West Ham United news, Garth Crooks includes Irons duo in BBC Team of the Week