ExWHUemployee has confirmed that both Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell will miss the first of West Ham’s Europa Conference League group games.
Both men missed the trip to Stamford Bridge last Saturday while Johnson didn’t feature against Tottenham due to a hamstring injury.
Cresswell seemingly managed a groin problem in the 1-1 draw with Spurs but Ex has now claimed on The West Ham Way Patreon page that the duo will both miss the visit of FCSB.
He wrote: ‘David Moyes has the usual dilemmas of injuries and rotations to contemplate this week.
‘Both full-backs Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell will miss today’s match with strains.’
Moyes came into the season with £30m summer signing Nayef Aguerd having to undergo ankle surgery while Craig Dawson is still yet to feature this term as he deals with a persistent thigh injury meaning Johnson had to deputise in the centre of the back-line for the first three games of the year including the two opening Premier League fixtures.
Thilo Kehrer has since arrived to fill the position alongside Kurt Zouma while Johnson has shifted out to his more natural right-back position and while Vladimir Coufal is first-choice you would think that Moyes would like the luxury of having a choice given the upcoming league game with Newcastle and the fact that Coufal himself is returning to fitness.
Emerson, meanwhile, is likely to come in for Cresswell but with four defenders injured and three fixtures in the next seven days, it certainly isn’t an ideal situation for Moyes.
