Samir Nasri has been ruled out of West Ham’s clash with Everton this weekend, according to reliable source Claret & Hugh.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini admitted that the Frenchman’s chances of playing against the Toffees were touch and go during his press conference on Thursday, but it is now reported that he will not be available for selection.
The £75,000-a-week ace [Football Insider] will miss the match due to a calf injury sustained during a knock in training.
OPINION
This will be a real blow for the Hammers in a game that will be viewed as a real six pointer. The Frenchman was arguably the driving force in the Irons’ sensational 4-3 comeback win over Huddersfield Town, and he has impressed in pretty much every game he has featured in so far for his new club. The race for seventh place is really starting to hot up, but you would have to say that one of these two teams are the most likely to drop out of that contest in the coming weeks. If either one were to lose on Saturday, depending on results elsewhere, they could almost certainly kiss their chances good bye, and Pellegrini will be desperate to make sure that his side are not the one left with nothing to play for going into the final weeks of the season. Having Nasri available would have given a really decent creative alternative to the Chilean, and now he will be looking to his other attacking talents to fill the void that will be left.
