Sky Sports contributor and injury expert Ben Dinnery says that the likes of West Ham United could now be set for a 'huge spike' in fitness problems.

The Lowdown: Moyes injury woes...

The Irons and manager David Moyes have had to cope with a fair share of fitness worries, including an injury to summer signing Nayef Aguerd, who still hasn't been able to feature for the east Londoners.

Premier League sides are also having to cope with an ever-congested fixture calendar in the build-up to this winter's 2022 World Cup in Qatar, potentially exacerbating the worries further.

Dinnery, who also runs the Premier Injuries website, has now shared his potentially worrying consensus.

The Latest: West Ham could be set for 'huge spike'...

Speaking to Football Insider, the injury expert claims that player problems are 'beginning to ramp up', and West Ham could well be affected by a 'huge spike' in problems, given that their upcoming Europa Conference League commitments will leave them frequently playing two or even three matches in an eight-day period.

He explained: "Playing three matches in a week with a fairly quick turnaround and travel on top of that, it’s fairly understandable.

“When we look at the data for injury incidence, it’s normally around weeks three, four and five that we see a huge spike in incidence. That has been the case over the last four or five seasons.

“In the last few days, we have seen players pick up a high number of hamstring incidents as players are beginning to ramp up. We also have this mid-week fixture now.

“So, there is always going to be that period of adaptation in going from the off-season into playing again.

“One game per week is manageable, but when you throw another game in there you throw everything off-kilter in terms of your pre and post-match recovery strategies."

The Verdict: Never seen before...

The jam-packed schedule in the build up to the Qatar tournament will inevitably result in more injuries and problems for teams up and down the English top flight, with West Ham seemingly among the more vulnerable sides due to their European commitments and comparatively small squad size.

Moyes and his coaching staff will be hoping they can minimise the damage as much as possible throughout a crucial campaign at the London Stadium.