Injury Update: Sakho and Ogbonna closer to first-team return
Last time out against Leicester, West Ham not only succumbed to another defeat but suffered three devastating injuries.
Winston Reid, Pedro Obiang and Michail Antonio all suffered injuries which will see them miss several weeks if not the rest of the season.
The club’s Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke has issued an update on the condition of all of the Hammers’ stricken players in his latest column on the club site.
Michail Antonio was forced to withdraw from the England squad this week due to a hamstring injury suffered against Leicester but the attacker battled on and saw out the game.
While the injury is thankfully not as severe as the one that kept Sam Byram out for over three months during the winter, Antonio is expected to miss three to four weeks.
Captain on the day Winston Reid suffered a muscular injury early in the first half and was taken off after several minutes of treatment.
The damage done forced him to pull out of the New Zealand squad this week and will keep him sidelined for up to five weeks, Vandenbroucke notes.
Pedro Obiang’s situation is the most severe. After suffering a high ankle sprain in the second half, Obiang underwent surgery on the injury on Tuesday this week and is recovering at home.
Unfortunately for the Hammers, his timetable for a return to action is lengthy and will see him miss the rest of the season.
Mark Noble missed the Leicester game with a knock he picked up against Bournemouth but he will return to first-team training this week and will be available for selection next week against Hull barring any setbacks.
Angelo Ogbonna played through a patella injury for most of the season at the request of the club until a replacement could be signed, and following the arrival of Jose Fonte he underwent knee surgery which was expected to rule him out for the season.
The Italian defender has been recovering well, Vandenbroucke reports, and if his rehab remains on schedule he will be reintroduced to first-team training in the next four to five weeks which could see him available for the final games of the season.
Diafra Sakho, who has missed virtually the entire season barring a two-game stretch in November, is also closing in on a first-team return.
The striker has been undergoing controlled sessions with the U23s of late which will continue to be monitored. His workload will be gradually increased before he’s deemed fit and ready to rejoin the first-team soon.
Severely lacking match fitness, it will likely be a few more weeks before we see Sakho feature in a matchday squad.