West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that he is cautiously easing Michail Antonio back into regular action following his recent injury lay-off.
The Hammers manager addressed the media on Monday as his side gear up to take on AFC Wimbledon in the second round of the Carabao Cup this weekend and was quizzed on Antonio’s condition.
Having missed the Bournemouth defeat two weeks ago, Antonio started in West Ham’s recent 3-1 defeat away at Arsenal as he stepped up his recovery from ankle surgery.
Antonio, who was previously a vital player for the Hammers, has been in and out of Pellegrini’s line-ups since returning to first-team training after the injury problem. The Chilean, as quoted by West Ham’s official club website, discussed how he plans to manage the versatile attacker’s fitness.
I was asked about why Michail Antonio has started two games and was not involved against Bournemouth. The answer is that Michail played the first game and he didn’t play the second because he had played the full 90 minutes and it was his first game after six months on from his surgery, so he couldn’t continue playing every game.
We rested him and that way he could work better during the week and could be ready to play this game. Unfortunately for him, he has a slight problem in his ankle and that is why he did not complete the game, but he played very well.
West Ham will be desperate to clinch their first win of the season on Tuesday night when they take on Wimbledon.
