West Ham right-back Ryan Fredericks will miss the rest of the season with a shin injury, according to the Mirror.
The London Evening Standard had previously reported that the 26-year-old will miss three months’ worth of action for the Hammers, however the Mirror has now claimed that the defender’s setback at Huddersfield is one that has ended his season.
It is a major blow for Manuel Pellegrini, who has already seen another summer signing in Andriy Yarmolenko ruled out until April.
OPINION
It must be some major shin injury if Fredericks is going to miss the rest of the season but there have been varying reports about the timescale of his recovery period, so it is likely that the ex-Fulham player could return earlier than what the Mirror are claiming. Fredericks has struggled to settle down at the London Stadium since his free transfer to the Hammers in the summer. The 26-year-old has made six appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal in the process which came against Macclesfield in the Carabao Cup. Pablo Zabaleta has definitely been Pellegrini’s first pick at right-back, which is understandably and it is not a bad thing for Fredericks to be missing out to a player of his quality and experience. However there have been reports that Zabaleta will retire at the end of the season so Fredericks needs to ensure that he can step up to be the main man at right-back next year. He cannot do that while he is injured though and Pellegrini may have to sign a replacement in January if he cannot stay fit.