According to The Dail Mail, West Ham could be without defensive duo Aaron Cresswell and Fabián Balbeuna for the visit from Cardiff tomorrow.

Both players sustained their injuries in The Hammers' impressive demolition of Newcastle at St James' Park on Saturday. Unfortunately, manager Manuel Pellegrini now has a slight problem on his hands in terms of covering for the duo.

In terms of his left-back cover, the Chilean will turn to Arthur Masuaku, who has already featured extensively for The Hammers this season. But in recent weeks, it appeared that Cresswell was usurping the Congo international. However, he will obviously not need to wait as long as he may have been fearing to make his return to the first team at the London Stadium.

The slightly more tricky prospect for Pellegrini is replacing Paraguay international Balbeuna. The defender looks to be forging a formidable partnership with Issa Diop in the heart of the defence for The Hammers, and is clearly his manager's first choice. With Winston Reid still out, the best option is Angelo Ogbonna. However, the Italian has only made two starts in the Premier League this season, and that was at the start of the campaign. He is clearly not held in high regard by his manager, but will be forced back into action.

While The Irons would be able to cope with one of these defenders out, having two injured suddenly makes their defence look slightly weak. They may feel lucky that they are only facing Cardiff, who are below them in the table.