West Ham United forward Michail Antonio is more determined than ever to return early from his latest injury setback, according to Claret and Hugh.
The club source revealed on their website that Antonio is eager to return quicker than his spell on the sideline from last season, where he missed a total of 132 days.
Claret and Hugh report that a source within the club had told them that they are backing Antonio to return from his injury as quickly as possible.
The 29-year-old was forced to leave the field in the Carabao Cup clash against Newport County with a hamstring injury that led to surgery.
OPINION
The injury to Antonio led to Manuel Pellegrini having a real selection headache at West Ham. The Chilean will more than likely always choose to play Sebastien Haller as a lone-striker after his great start to the season, but Antonio’s lay-off has led to the Hammers’ only having Albian Ajeti as a senior out-and-out forward backup. Antonio had started the majority of the season on the bench so far but offers great pace and athleticism in the second half of games. The 29-year-old has averaged 1.7 shots on goal so far this campaign, and also 0.7 key passes according to WhoScored. Despite those stats, he has failed to open his account, and that is vital for any forward looking to force his way into the starting 11. Antonio has suffered injury layoffs of more than 100 days in the past couple of seasons and looks set to make it three in a row this year. That sort of record doesn’t make for good reading, and if he continues to pick up needless injuries Pellegrini’s patience will soon wear thin.
