West Ham will be missing the talents of attacking trio Marko Arnautovic, Xande Silva and Nathan Holland against Macclesfield on Wednesday after injury dashed their hopes of making first team appearances, according to club insider ExWHUemployee.
The Twitter account and proven reputable source of information reported on radio podcast The West Ham Way (24/09, 44:44) that the 20-year-old winger would be out for another two weeks after picking up a hamstring injury, having hoped to have featured against the League Two outfit.
Silva was said to have also been closing in on a move into the first team for the League Cup clash, but is another to have picked up a hamstring setback and as such has been set a return date of four weeks from now.
As for the Austrian, it is said that despite having returned to training after failing a late fitness test over the weekend, he is also likely to miss out with an eye on the clash versus Manchester United, leaving Manuel Pellegrini with depleted options up top.
Opinion
This is a real blow for the Hammers, who would have loved to have given their younger talents, many of which look like really promising players, the chance for some first team action against a Macclesfield side the Irons are expected to defeat with ease. Silva certainly looks set to break through into the senior side sooner rather than later, although that hamstring injury will set him back and could mean he is forced to bide his time in the reserves, especially if there is a shock and West Ham have no more League Cup action to face. As for Holland, it sounds as though he was also pushing for a place among the side but has cruelly seen that chance snatched away from him, although a win on Wednesday could leave him the chance to make an appearance in the next stage of the competition, with his recovery further on than his attacking counterpart’s.