West Ham United insider Ex-WHU Employee has recently talked about Issa Diop’s fitness issues ahead of their next Premier League game.
Ex-WHU Employee appeared as a guest on the latest episode of the West Ham Way podcast and the panel discussed multiple issues involving the Hammers. One topic of discussion was the fitness of multiple West Ham stars and one player that they talked about was Diop. Ex-WHU Employee shared details about his situation and the injury he sustained at Old Trafford.
In West Ham’s FA Cup loss to Man Utd, 24-year-old Diop became the first ever concussion substitution in football as he was taken off at half time by David Moyes. He had initially replaced the injured Angelo Ogbonna but he had suffered the concussion himself and was later taken off by the Hammers’ boss (as per Sky Sports).
Should Diop be risked against Sheffield United?
Yes
No
Ex-WHU Employee made it clear that Diop has a bump on his head and the injury was quite a significant one as well.
He provided more details about it and said (49:10): “Diop was the first player to take advantage, if that’s the right word, of the concussion substitution rule that I spoke about last week on the show. So that’s why he was on and then off because he got concussed and under that regulation, he has to be taken off. And he has a bump on his head. And quite a significant one but they do think by next Monday, which is the Sheffield United game, it should have gone and he should be ready I think to play for that.”
TIF Thoughts on Issa Diop…
Ogbonna had also sustained an injury against Man Utd as a result of a clash with Anthony Martial. It means that apart from Diop, the Hammers currently have Craig Dawson and Fabian Balbuena as the only other senior-team centre-back options.
So Diop’s return to fitness after the concussion will be a bonus for Moyes’ men, especially considering that they’ve lost just one of their last nine Premier League. Having more options on the bench might help them keep this run going in the next few weeks.