Reports are suggesting that West Ham centre back Issa Diop has been ruled out until the end of the season, after suffering an ankle injury at the weekend.
According to several rumours, initially suggest by The Guardian, Issa Diop could now potentially miss the rest of the season with an ankle ligament injury he suffered during West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Burnley on Sunday.
Diop picked up the knock towards the latter stages of the game but continued playing to help save a point for the Hammers.
The 25-year-old was filling in for the already injured Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna, who were both absent for the Premier League match and the club’s Europa League win on Thursday.
Despite worry over whether Diop could fill their boots as a replacement, the French defender has played excellently to help the Hammers continue their fine form this season.
However, this latest rumour could now derail West Ham’s hopes of finishing the campaign on a high, with tough games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Eintracht Frankfurt coming up.
Craig Dawson now remains as the club’s only fit centre back, which means manager David Moyes will have to adjust the system accordingly to get through this difficult spell of matches.
There are several options in place for West Ham going forward, with many supporters encouraging the manager to give the club’s youngsters a chance.
U23 captain Aji Alese would be an obvious choice to fill in the vacant spot next to Dawson, with 18-year-old Jamal Baptiste a viable option, too.
Both current full-backs Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell can also fill into that left-sided spot in the centre back partnership, as well as defensive midfielder Declan Rice, despite Moyes being reluctant to take the England international away from the middle of the park.
Whatever option the coaching staff opt for, this will definitely be a huge blow for West Ham and their hopes of finishing on a high this season.
However, the club have overcome difficulties like this in the past due to a lack of investment in the playing squad over the last 12 months, and the squad will no doubt be ready to do it once again for this campaign.
