WHZ View: Moyes must be patient after timely Antonio boost
West Ham manager David Moyes has confirmed that Michail Antonio is back in training following a hamstring injury, but the Hammers must remain patient with the striker.
As reported by the official club website, Moyes revealed in his pre-match press conference that the striker was back training ‘on the grass’, having not featured since the end of November: “Michy’s back on the grass training. We’ll hopefully get him back as quick as we can.
“We can’t say exactly when that’s going to be. We’ll monitor him daily. He’s coming on well so hopefully, it’ll not be too long.”
Sebastien Haller’s performance against Chelsea last time out sent a timely reminder to Moyes and the West Ham board of just how important Antonio can be for the Hammers.
With that in mind, Moyes must remain patient in his efforts to bring the forward back into first team action to avoid any reoccurring injuries.
The fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday might come too soon for Antonio, but Moyes’ recent admission that the forward’s absence could force the club into the transfer market shows just how highly he is valued.
As per WhoScored, only Jarrod Bowen has scored more goals than Antonio in the Premier League for West Ham this season.
Against Chelsea, Haller looked short of any kind of confidence, which could tempt Moyes to throw Antonio straight back in at the deep.
Using all of his experience, Moyes will no doubt be wary that doing so could aggravate the previous injury and set him back even further.
After seeing just how badly the Hammers struggled in front of goal without him, drip-feeding him back into the team is surely the way to go.
In other West Ham news, Declan Rice issues perfect Gary Neville response with stunning performance v Chelsea