David Moyes is facing a 'defensive crisis' at West Ham United after Issa Diop was added to the injury list, The Guardian's Jacob Steinberg says.
The lowdown
Diop completed the full 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw against Burnley on Sunday, but picked up an injury in the closing stages.
The £67,000-per-week man was deputising for Kurt Zouma, who's out with an ankle sprain.
Moyes was unable to put a timescale on Zouma's return when asked last week, but he already knows that Angelo Ogbonna will be out until the end of the season.
West Ham are due to travel to third-place Chelsea in a London derby on Sunday before hosting Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Europa League semifinal on 28 April.
The second leg is pencilled in for the following Thursday, with the final scheduled for 18 May, should they make it.
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The latest
Steinberg tweeted on Tuesday morning that the problems were mounting for Moyes ahead of the Europa League tie after 'Issa Diop [is] ruled out'.
In the attached story, he reports that Diop is facing up to eight weeks out with ankle ligament damage, potentially ruling him out for the remainder of the season.
West Ham are still 'clinging onto hope' that the Frenchman could make a comeback before the end of the campaign.
The verdict
There's no denying that this is a big blow for West Ham. Indeed, Ian Wright thought the outlook was bleak even before Diop's injury, warning that 'the squad is so close to falling apart'.
But while Moyes may be cursing his luck, he must simply focus on devising the best solution. Declan Rice has played 51 games as a centre-back during his career, but Steinberg notes in his report that Moyes is reluctant to move him out of midfield.
He can either compromise on that front or turn instead to someone like Ben Johnson, a predominant full-back with six games of experience in the position.
In other news, The Mirror names a potential WHU transfer target.