West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic has confirmed that he is facing the prospect of medical treatment while on international duty over his troublesome knee injury.
The Austrian colossus, standing at 6’3″ (source: Transfermarkt), has been suffering with problems in his knee for much of the current campaign, with the setback forcing him to sit out some games earlier in the season.
With the international break upon the Premier League, the 29-year-old has admitted he is still suffering with the issue and that he might have to have injections to treat it if he wants to play for his country.
He told Salzburger Nachrichten: “I can not say if I’ll get an injection on Thursday. In the knee, fluid accumulates again and again. Of course there are people who say they should spare themselves and do nothing for a week, but it’s just difficult.”
Opinion
Arnautovic’s knee was a problem for the Irons earlier in the season but it seems as though the issues have persisted, despite him featuring on a regular basis for the club. You can be sure that the Hammers would have preferred to see their star man take the time off over the international break in order to try and recover but at the same time if the injury is treatable with injections and the like, then why should he stop himself from playing for his country? Yes, he is probably doing himself no good and it will probably require either specialist treatment, or even just a prolonged rest, later down the line, but the striker simply wants to keep playing football for both the Irons and Austria. His determination to battle through the issue is admirable, and you can only hope that it does not come back to bite him later in his career.