Fresh from being brought to our knees by a shoddy performance by Andre Marriner, West Ham now have a new nemesis hampering our quest to stay in the top ten – Enner Valencia’s tea mug.
No, really. The Ecuadorian international has suffered what West Ham are calling a “deep laceration” to his big toe after stepping on a broken tea cup and is extremely likely to miss West Ham’s match against Arsenal this weekend.
According to Sam Allardyce, “He had an accident at home and has cut his big toe quite severely. It has been stitched. We think it will be too soon for him be considered for the game at Arsenal.”
This freak accident is just what West Ham didn’t need right now. We’re still a little short of strikers with Andy Carroll being out injured, and although our new singing Nene looks feisty and sharp, it’s a big ask for him to suddenly be up to the pace of the Premier League as we head into a game against third placed Arsenal. We will certainly be missing the pace and aggression provided by Valencia, who has played in 30 matches and scored five goals since arriving at Upton Park in the summer transfer window.
It’s such a frustrating injury at a frustrating time – and surely it’s time for our luck to change just a little bit? Would it be possible for us to catch just a small break – and I don’t mean one in the bones of a player.
After all, Valencia’s injury couldn’t come at a worse time for the player. With Andy Carroll sidelined for the rest of the season, Valencia has as much playing time as he could possible want – and he’s been utilising it well. We’ve seen an increase in fight and determination from him in recent matches, particularly against Chelsea (possibly owing to him wanting a move there in the future, but never mind that now), and to break his stride now is such a shame for the player.
Annoying as it is, we’re also lucky it wasn’t worse. When the story about Enner’s injury first came to light (somehow emanating from his native Ecuador) that the player had been injured, phrases like “4 to 6 weeks” and “surgery” were used – whereas now he is stitched and recovering and facing a far less lengthy time off of the pitch.
Hopefully, with a bit of rest and some extensive use of plasters, we’ll see our player back on the pitch soon – after all, glad as I am to see Mr. Valencia enjoying the English traditions of tea, I’d much rather see him showing us what Ecuador have brought to football out on the pitch. Get well soon, Enner. Please.
