da doce： West Ham United have been dealt a potentially huge injury blow concerning Arthur Masuaku.
What’s the latest?
da esoccer bet： That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee, with the West Ham insider revealing on a recent episode of The West Ham Way podcast that the left-back, who has been absent from David Moyes’ last two matchday squads, could be ruled out of action for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
Speaking about the 28-year-old’s current condition, Ex said: “Masuaku hasn’t featured because of a knee injury which they say is caused from playing on hard pitches.
“He’s got his ongoing knee injury which needs to be investigated by experts [as to] whether he can play. He might even be ruled out for the rest of the season, but I don’t know yet.”
Moyes will be fuming
Masuaku is by no means a guaranteed starter at the London Stadium but with first-choice Aaron Cresswell having sustained injuries of his own already this season – as well as the 32-year-old turning in below-par performances against both Manchester United and Leicester City in recent weeks – the DR Congo international’s absence for the remainder of the campaign would be a bitter setback for Moyes.
One that would undoubtedly leave him fuming.
Indeed, while the 58-year-old has previously fielded Ben Johnson out of position on the left of his backline this season, the potential loss of Masuaku would still severely dent the Hammers’ depth in the position.
And, despite his second-choice standing in the Irons’ left-back pecking order, the £4.5m-rated defender has done an admirable job over his 11 Premier League outings this term, scoring one goal, registering one assist and creating one big chance for his teammates, as well as making an average of 0.8 interceptions, 2.6 tackles, 0.9 clearances and winning five duels at a success rate of 65% per game.
These returns have seen the £43k-per-week man average a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 6.88, ranking him as Moyes’ 12th-best performer in the top flight of English football.
Not bad for just a backup option.
As such, while Ex does not appear certain about the length of Masuaku’s potential injury layoff, whichever way you look at it, the insider’s update on the 28-year-old is not good news for West Ham – who will need as many of their first-team squad fit and firing if they are to keep up in the race for a top-four finish, as well as competing in both the Europa League and FA Cup this season.
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