OPINION
Making a successful comeback after a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury is hard for any player – West Ham fans know all about that – and it can often have a detrimental effect on their future.
The same no doubt applies to Hammers centre-back Winston Reid, who has been out for the entirety of the season, and is not set to make a recovery in time to get some minutes under his belt.
He was a mainstay in the team last season, making 19 appearances in all competitions, but this time around, things have change an awful lot.
A new manager came was appointed in the shape of Manuel Pellegrini, who went on to splash £100million on players in last summer’s transfer window. Two of those players included central defenders Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena, both who have been regulars in the starting XI this season.
What’s more, they have both been blowing everyone away with the way they have adapted to the Premier League so quickly. They are no doubt going to be stars of the future for the club, and it does not look like Pellegrini is going to budge on his first choices any time soon.
They will certainly be the bed rock of the team next season, and this will end up leaving Reid in the cold. The possibility of him usurping the duo from their starting spots is highly unlikely when he returns, so it looks like his career with the club may be dead and buried at that point.
This is a shame, as the crocked 30-year-old has the potential to be great once again. However, if he is unlikely to get minutes, what is the point in trying salvage something out of nothing?
He is a lot better moving elsewhere to get the game time that he will naturally crave.
