WHZ View: Same old West Ham – Lack of squad depth will undo us again
West Ham have been dealt the worst possible blow as Declan Rice looks set to miss the Premier League run-in with a knee injury.
The 22-year-old is currently wearing a knee brace to prevent further damage. According to the Telegraph, the initial fear is a four to six week lay off. It’s a massive blow for the Hammers and for England.
The club are not aware of the extent of the injury as of yet. The worst-case scenario is he’ll miss the end of our season and the European Championships with England, for whom he has become a vital component.
Devastating
It was a great season whilst it lasted, wasn’t it? It’s just typical of West Ham this.
As if we didn’t already have our work cut out for us. Liverpool and Tottenham are back in the race for the top four, we’ve been doing everything we can to remain in the mix. The lack of options in the centre of midfield is what will be the undoing of us.
Rice is simply irreplaceable. He’s played every minute of every game for the last two seasons in the Premier League, and the vast majority the year before that.
The decision to go into this campaign with just three central midfielders was always a risk. Looking back, how was Josh Cullen allowed to leave for Anderlecht without us bringing in a replacement?
As fantastic a servant Mark Noble has been to the club, our European push will be over when he lines up in the middle. Rice’s shoes are too big to fill. He simply hasn’t got the legs to do what Dec’s been doing in his absence.
This season, Noble has started four times for us in the Premier League. We’re yet to win a game when he does, and have so far taken just a single point. It’s not a dig at the club captain, he gives his all when he gets on the pitch. But it won’t be enough for where we want to finish the season.
It’s so frustrating that, despite all of our hard work this year, we’re going to be undone by the inability to add squad depth. It’s borderline ignorant to think we’d go the season playing the same two men in the middle for 90 minutes. And now, we pay for it.
In other West Ham news, was John Hartson a one-season wonder, or a cult hero?