West Ham United insider @ExWHUemployee has aired a potential injury concern over Mark Noble and explained why he missed the clash with Chelsea.
During the Hammers’ 3-2 victory over Frank Lampard’s outfit, the club’s captain was absent from the squad (per BBC).
However, the veteran middleman did return to the squad for the Hammers’ trip to St. James’ Park to face Newcastle United over the weekend and he made a substitute appearance (per BBC).
Speaking before the clash with the Toon in the latest episode of The West Ham Way Podcast, @ExWHUemployee shed some light on why Noble missed the clash with the Blues.
He said: “So, the other thing with Mark Noble – I don’t know if it’s been well reported or not – but he was in training on Tuesday, and he felt his lower back/hamstring area and said to the boss, ‘that doesn’t feel right’ and obviously they didn’t want to take the risk with a hamstring like that.
“If it goes in a game, that’d be him out for the season. So, they were like, ‘right, Chelsea game – we need him back for other fixtures possibly, more importantly’ – which obviously worked in our favour, so they didn’t risk him.
“That’s why he didn’t play.”
TIF Thoughts…
It seems that Noble not featuring against Chelsea was just a precaution so that he would not have to miss more of the season if the injury was made worse by playing.
Would you still class Mark Noble as a key player for West Ham United?Yes, he's still important
No, no longer key
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Hopefully, as the midfielder made a substitute appearance against the Toon, that means that any potential injury concerns are no longer lurking.