- Jean-Clair Todibo was injured in the warm-up before West Ham’s game against Aston Villa
- Freddie Potts replaced Jean-Clair Todibo in the starting XI
- West Ham would lose the game 2-0 to Aston Villa
West Ham United fell to a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday. The loss see’s the Hammers miss an opportunity to get out of the bottom three, falling to one point from safety heading into the international break.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s team were dealt a blow well before kick off as Jean-Clair Todibo, due to start, was injured in the warm-up. The French central defender felt something in his calf and was quick to point it out to the club’s medical team, before hobbling off the pitch. Freddie Potts would replace Todibo as West Ham reverted to a back-four on a bad day for the team.
According to the Claret and Hugh, Todibo is on the road to recovery and is expected to be available when the club return to action on 5th April, against Leeds United in the FA Cup.
There were fears that the Hammers defender could have suffered a serious muscle strain but that has now been quashed with Todibo likely to slot back in if Nuno chooses to play three central defenders again.
Defensive importance at West Ham
A big part of the changes made at West Ham in 2026 has been on the defensive side of the ball. Todibo, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Axel Disasi have all been big cogs in the machine that has got the Hammers going from the back up.
Since Disasi joined the club on-loan the Irons have secured four clean sheets as they attempt to lock up the Premier League’s second leakiest back-line. Alternating between either two of the three, or throwing all three central defenders in, West Ham are slowly getting things right.
Jean-Clair Todibo’s 2025/26 West Ham United Statistics
| Appearances | Clean Sheets | Assists |
| 22 | 2 | 1 |
Aston Villa aside, Nuno and his staff will welcome back Todibo knowing that huge games are to come in the Hammers fight for survival.
