Manuel Lanzini is set to miss the entirety of next season with a ruptured cruciate ligament injury, according to West Ham Way.
The Hammers site, which is a reliable source of club information, has delivered an update on the injury suffered by the Argentina international last week which has ruled him out of the World Cup.
West Ham Way report that senior people at the club “have said it is one of the worst injuries that they have had since working in football” and he is expected to miss the whole of 2018-19 campaign.
OPINION
The extent of Lanzini’s injury is both cruel and shattering. For club and player. The Argentine is a key member of the team, perhaps one of only two along with Marko Arnautovic who would make every squad in the Premier League. Torn ACL’s – short for anterior cruciate ligament – are notoriously horrible injuries, with Everton’s Yannick Bolasie missing virtually a year with the same problem until his return last December. It appears that Lanzini’s knee injury is at least on a par with the pacy wide man, and the road to recovery will be a painfully long one for him. What a blow for new boss Manuel Pellegrini, who would have looked forward to being reunited with the player he managed at River Plate. Given the speed with which West Ham go through managers, there is a possibility he will never get the chance to coach the playmaker in a claret-and-blue shirt. What is certain is that the club’s need for attacking reinforcements has been heightened.
