West Ham United have been dealt a huge blow ahead of their relegation six-pointer against Southampton this weekend, with Nayef Aguerd seemingly a big doubt after picking up a knock on international duty with Morocco.
What's the latest West Ham injury news?
Results went against the Hammers two weeks ago and they now find themselves in the relegation places in the Premier League, meaning that three points should be considered a must when they face bottom side Southampton at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Unfortunately for manager David Moyes, it seems as if he could be without some of his key players for the visit of the Saints, as he provided an injury update in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
He said:
"We're pretty good. We've got illness here and there and a couple of injuries [with the players coming back from international duty]. Emerson has been sick, [Nayef] Aguerd has a niggly hip and [Gianluca] Scamacca has a sore knee, so we'll see where we are."
While Scamacca has found himself on the fringes of the squad recently and Emerson is arguably easily replaced by Aaron Cresswell, it could be a huge blow to West Ham's chances if Aguerd isn't fit to play, due to the lack of strength in depth available to Moyes at centre-back.
Is potentially losing Aguerd a big blow for West Ham?
The departure of Craig Dawson in January has left the Scottish manager with just Aguerd, Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna to choose from as natural centre-backs in his squad, with the latter arguably not cut out for the relegation battle as he closes in on 35.
Aguerd – who is valued at around £27m by FootballTransfers – has established himself as a key player at the London Stadium since joining from Rennes in the summer of 2022, recovering from an ankle injury in pre-season to become a regular starter in the heart of the Hammers' defence.
His 6.66 average rating from WhoScored is the best of any centre-back in Moyes' squad, while he ranks in the top seven players for tackles, interceptions and clearances per game, which emphasises his importance at the back.
The 27-year-old, who was dubbed "exceptional" by The Coaches' Voice on Twitter, has already won over Moyes and the former Manchester United manager is convinced that his side would be better off had he been fit for the whole season.
After the 1-1 draw against Newcastle United, he said: “So he’s only played four or five Premier League games and it’s been a huge miss and you can see what he has done to us, even today [at Newcastle], and if you look at our results since he has come into the team it has been a big, big difference to us.”
Therefore, the 59-year-old will understandably be gutted if Aguerd isn't fit to feature against Southampton, as it could be a huge blow in their hopes of picking up a vital three points.
