Ex-WHU Employee has recently provided an update about Michail Antonio’s fitness ahead of the club’s game against Sheffield United.
On the latest episode of the West Ham Way podcast, Ex-WHU Employee addressed the fitness situation of multiple West Ham players following the FA Cup loss at the hands of Manchester United. One player that the insider focused on was Antonio and whether he will be fit for the upcoming clash against the Blades. He gave a rather positive insight about the Englishman.
Antonio hadn’t featured for the Hammers in their loss to United, as Andriy Yarmolenko had played up front in that game. The 30-year-old has missed multiple games in the current season but he had played in their recent Premier League game against Fulham (as per Transfermarkt).
Should West Ham risk starting Antonio against Sheffield United?
Yes
No
Before the Man Utd game, David Moyes had confirmed that his injury wasn’t too bad and the 30-year-old had played a lot in the last few days.
Ex-WHU Employee confirmed that Antonio had a slight hamstring issue ahead of the trip to Old Trafford but the Englishman should be ready to feature against Chris Wilder’s men.
He said (48:35) “So Antonio didn’t play because his hamstring’s felt tight ahead of the Manchester United game. So he was rested. Now, he is a doubt for Sheffield United. But the word coming out of the club to me today was that he should be available for that game. They’re 90 to 95% confident that he should be available. So yes, that’s probably a good thing. But as always, it seems like a massive gamble on our behalf. But we have no other option at this point.”
TIF Thoughts on Antonio’s fitness…
Antonio has made 15 league appearances for the Hammers this season, scoring five times and getting three assists as well for Moyes’ side. While doing that, he has grabbed a good rating of 7.09 too (as per Whoscored).
While that shows his importance to the team, he is West Ham’s only out-and-out striker option since Sebastien Haller has moved on. While Yarmolenko did feature against Man Utd, he too succumbed to an injury. So Antonio’s fitness will be crucial for West Ham ahead of the game against the Blades.