West Ham United manager David Moyes has been dealt a blow ahead of tonight's crunch clash with Sevilla in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.

The Lowdown: West Ham without key men...

The Hammers have had to cope without some influential figures in recent weeks/months as Moyes seeks to maintain his side's push for Champions League qualification.

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West Ham are still in contention for a top-four place in the Premier League and take on La Liga giants Sevilla tonight as they also eye a run in Europe.

As the Irons fight on two major fronts, players who have proven integral over this last year have been absent recently, including defenders Angelo Ogbonna and Vladimir Coufal.

Both men are sidelined and unavailable tonight with there being plenty of fears in this last week surrounding another star player in Jarrod Bowen.

The Englishman was forced off in West Ham's 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday, and despite the club confirming his knock isn't a serious one, it appears Moyes will also be without his star player for Sevilla alongside the likes Coufal and Ogbonna.

The Latest: Bowen blow...

Speaking to the press, via football.london, West Ham's manager confirmed Bowen won't be playing at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium this evening.

"It [missing Bowen] will limit us as Jarrod has an X factor," he said when asked about the winger.

"He has been in good form the last two to three months, it will not change us a great deal but we are missing an important player.

"We hope Jarrod can make it for the second leg. He has had three or four scans and there is noting severe but we are hoping to find the cause and to get him back as he is important."

The Verdict: Huge miss...

Bowen is undoubtedly a contender for West Ham's player of the season so missing him for tonight is a major blow.

As consistently reiterated by Moyes, Bowen has been 'really important' for the club this season, as evident by his WhoScored statistics in the Premier League.

Not only is the 25-year-old West Ham's top provider of goals and assists combined (8G, 8A), he's also averaged the highest overall match rating out of their entire squad (7.23) and an even better number than big name star Declan Rice (7.17).

Completing more dribbles per 90 (1.6) than any man in Moyes' squad, Bowen is consistently the Hammers' most potent threat and his absence could well be detrimental.

Labelled 'incredible player' by Noel Whelan, West Ham will sorely miss him tonight.

In other news: Chief sports writer says West Ham have opened talks to sign 'out of the ordinary' £22.5m-rated star, find out more here.