David Moyes has delivered some important West Ham injury news ahead of their upcoming Europa League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night.
The Lowdown: Missing from the matchday squad
The Irons recently suffered a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League in their race for a top-six finish, but first team regular Ben Johnson appeared to be missing from the starting XI and wasn’t even occupying a seat on the bench, with teammate Vladimir Coufal taking his place.
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The 22-year-old has been in impressive form under Moyes this season so it was a surprise to see him not named in the match-day squad, however, it’s now been revealed that there was a very good reason as to why.
The Latest: Injury concern
The Athletic correspondent Roshane Thomas shared the news in a Twitter post, revealing: “Moyes says Ben Johnson has a thigh strain.”
Johnson joins a long list of defensive injuries at the London Stadium including Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna.
The Verdict: A massive blow
If the versatile wing-back is unavailable for selection in the second leg against the Bundesliga outfit, then this would come as a huge blow for the Scottish manager who needs all of his experienced defenders accessible to him, should the Irons have any chance of turning the tie around.
Despite Johnson only making 16 top-flight starts this term, he has been an absolute rock at the back for the Hammers, averaging 2.7 clearances, 1.8 tackles, and 1.2 interceptions per 90 minutes, via WhoScored.
Dubbed a “brilliant” player by pundit Paul Robinson since making his stamp on the first team, the £2.5k-per-week ace would be hugely missed if not declared fully fit in time, but will hopefully come back into contention for his side as soon as possible.