Medical expert Ben Dinnery has said that West Ham United could be without Kurt Zouma for up to four months following a knee operation.
The club have announced that the centre-back underwent surgery on a knee problem and will go through his rehabilitation program at Rush Green.
Zouma came off after just 15 minutes in the Hammers’ final game before the World Cup break, with David Moyes later confirming that an issue with the Frenchman’s knee had arisen during the team’s warm-up prior to their clash against Leicester City.
Dinnery has now had his say on the setback, suggesting that the former Chelsea rock could miss up to four months of action – but did suggest that if the 28-year-old went under the knife in order to play pain-free, it will be less of a concern in the long term.
He told GiveMeSport: “Depending on the extent of that surgery – whether it’s just a bit of a flush out and a bit of a trim or it’s something a little bit more involved in terms of the meniscus – you could be talking a period of 4-6 weeks, or possibly 3-4 months.
“Imaging may not have been conclusive, but suffice to say, it would give a strong indication that if the player wants to play pain-free going forward, that decision to take the operation was the correct move to make.”
TIF Thoughts on Zouma and West Ham…
Has Zouma been poor this season?
Yes
No
The 11-cap centre-back has started 14 of the Irons’ 15 Premier League fixtures this season, ranking second among defenders (6.65) according to WhoScored for average match rating this term.
He also ranks first for clearances (4.8) per 90 minutes in the side and fourth for pass completion, with an 86.2% success rate showing him to be the main enforcer in Moyes’ backline in recent seasons.
He has a history of knee injuries having ruptured his cruciate ligament during his days across the city at Stamford Bridge, which may be cause for concern.
On the bright side, the east Londoners will be able to call upon summer arrival Nayef Aguerd after the break having worked himself back to fitness from an ankle operation of his own, and that will at least soften any significant blow.