West Ham manager David Moyes is optimistic that the injury sustained by Kurt Zouma in his side’s FA Cup win over Kidderminster Harriers is not serious, as per The West Ham Way.
The Lowdown
The 58-year-old has faced a tough period regarding the availability of defenders this season. His options at centre-back began to diminish with the season-ending injury sustained by Angelo Ogbonna, who suffered a cruciate ligament rupture at the beginning of November.
When Zouma suffered a hamstring injury in early December, from which he only recently recovered, the Hammers were left with just two senior centre-backs available for selection in Craig Dawson and Issa Diop.
However, during West Ham’s lucky 2-1 win over Kidderminster, Zouma appeared to injure himself once again, as he fell awkwardly and seemingly jarred his knee, causing him to scream in pain. The Frenchman played on after receiving lengthy treatment and ended up completing the match, but concerns remain over the defender’s fitness.
The Latest
However, Moyes is optimistic that Zouma’s injury is not too serious. In an interview relayed by The West Ham Way, the Scotsman claimed: “I think he is OK.
“I was a bit worried. Obviously, the plan was not to play him as long but we made changes to try and get ourselves in the cup and stay in the cup so unfortunately, I was not able to bring him off earlier.”
The Verdict
Since arriving from Chelsea in the summer, Zouma has been crucial for the Irons. This has been demonstrated in the Premier League and the Europa League this season, where he leads the West Ham squad for the number of clearances per game in both competitions.
Despite being dubbed the ‘ultimate defender’ by former Stoke team-mate Ryan Shawcross, it seemed imperative that the Hammers added to Zouma’s quality at the back in January. The east Londoners were close to signing Marseille’s Duje Caleta-Car last month, but the move failed to materialise after the club acted stubbornly during the negotiations.
West Ham fans will surely be glad to hear that Zouma is doing well, but they could still be begging the question as to why the club did not sign an extra defender in January, in case a serious injury does occur at some stage between now and the end of the season.
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