West Ham are fearing the very worst regarding the injury status of midfield star Carlos Sanchez after he was ruled out of action until at least the start of 2019, according to the Mirror.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Colombian international, one of many summer signings made by the Hammers, has suffered ligament damage after being forced off in the clash against Macclesfield on Wednesday, and is set for months on the sidelines.
However, the Irons are said to be left worrying that the 32-year-old could be missing for the rest of the campaign, which would be a bitter pill to swallow after seeing ruled Jack Wilshere out already after surgery.
Opinion
This is not good news for West Ham, no matter how unimportant Sanchez was to their regular first team setup. A fringe figure to cover for the preferred senior stars, having him out of action leaves Manuel Pellegrini looking awfully light when it comes to numbers in the middle of the park, especially those who can carry out the same duties and role as his Colombian veteran. Declan Rice has been thriving as a central enforcer in recent weeks but behind him there is no one else who really has the qualities and attributes needed to fill the void. The hope will be that the club can get by until the winter window opens again and perhaps then they can revisit signing another to help plug the gap, but if injury or suspension were to hit, it leaves the Irons looking pretty vulnerable – some might even say weak – in the middle of the park.