The West Ham United training would appear to be short of a few mirrors, that or Slaven Bilic has been barking out his instructions while casually striding under ladders and releasing black cats into the Chadwell Heath area.
by supersum
How else can a rather unfortunate injury crisis be explained?
Lady Luck certainly has not been doing her rounds in the East End of late – maybe she has been caught up in the pre-Christmas gridlock which tends to engulf the country around this time of year.
Whatever the case, the Hammers – from everything looking rosy and key men drawing plaudits from far and wide – suddenly find themselves shorn of the most creative talent within their squad.
https://twitter.com/maanuulanzini10/status/673204411699736576
Manuel Lanzini is the latest to have had his fitness struggles assessed, and the news is not good.
The Argentine, who has been a welcome surprise package since joining on a season-long loan over the summer, is to be sidelined for up to six weeks, according to the club’s official website.
That puts him onto a treatment table alongside Dimitri Payet, with the burly Frenchman avoiding the need for surgery on his damaged ankle, but still ruled out for around three months.
As if that is not enough, Victor Moses hobbled out of Saturday’s goalless draw at Manchester United with a hamstring complaint – with the full extent of that ailment yet to be determined.
Add to this heady mix Enner Valencia (ankle) and Diafra Sakho (thigh) and Bilic finds himself down to the bare bones when it comes to dynamism and energy in the final third of the field.
Whatever the answer to this dilemma may be, if the Hammers are to remain in contention for a top-six finish, with football betting markets at the time of writing starting to lose faith as they slip out to 10/1, then there is a clear skill set that they must find cover for.
Players with the ability to run at defenders, or at least boast the willingness and confidence to try, are important weapons in any club’s arsenal – as they force opponents onto the back foot and lure in challenges which can result in dangerous set-pieces.
Lanzini has led that particular charge this season – attempting a club-high 50 dribbles – with Payet next on that list (45) and Moses third (44).
Last term – you have probably guessed where this is going – Valencia posted a rather impressive tally of 104 dribbles, with Sakho proving to be his closest challenger in that department on 60.
To have lost all five of those figures to injury is beyond unfortunate, with Valencia the only member of the quintet that may be seen again in 2015.
It is likely to be February time before the rest are ready to come back into contention.
On paper, this could be considered the best time in which to endure a crisis – if there is such a thing – with March and April looking like they will be the months which ultimately define the Hammers’ season, but there is no doubt that resolve will be tested over the coming weeks, and bad luck charms avoided at all costs!
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