West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that attacker Javier Hernandez will miss another 10 days of action.
The Mexican international was absent for the Hammers’ last two games after picking up a knock against Watford, and Pellegrini has provided an update on the former Bayer Leverkusen man.
“Javier has a muscle injury and won’t be ready for another 10 days,” the Chilean said at his pre match press conference ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Brighton & Hove Albion, as quoted by the Evening Standard.
The news is undoubtedly a blow to Pellegrini’s side, but it has been softened somewhat by frontman Marko Arnautovic’s return against Burnley last time out.
OPINION
Ten days isn’t a devastating timeline for Hernandez’s return. The Mexican came back into the side with a roar when he scored twice against Newcastle United, but he’s since hit the back of the net just once in four games. In that case it’s not as if West Ham are missing their top goalscorer or their best player, indeed with Arnautovic back it’s unlikely that Hernandez would have started against Brighton anyway. Pellegrini also has Lucas Perez and Andy Carroll to call upon, while Michail Antonio has operated in a more advanced position at times this season. The Hammers do have a substantial injury list at present, but Hernandez is probably one of the least concerning absentees at this moment in time. This setback is a shame for the striker, though, who has already had to endure his fair share of troubles with illness this campaign. Hopefully he returns fully fit in 10 days time and continues in that vein until the end of the season.
