West Ham captain Mark Noble has a “60/40” chance of featuring against Tottenham at the weekend, according to Claret & Hugh.
The Hammers’ skipper picked up an ankle injury during the 3-0 defeat to Burnley in his side’s last Premier League outing, as per the club’s official website.
But it is understood that he is “desperate” to feature in Saturday’s clash against the Irons’ London rivals, and has a decent chance of making Manuel Pellegrini’s starting XI.
OPINION
Having Noble back in the side against Tottenham would be a massive boost for the Hammers. West Ham are clearly struggling at the moment, and obviously Noble has been playing throughout that run, but without him in the side, it’s difficult to see who would partner Declan Rice in the centre of the park were he to miss out on the game. Even if Jack Wilshere was fit, for instance, he couldn’t offer the same level of defensive cover as his veteran teammate. So far this season, he has averaged just 0.2 tackles per game, plus no interceptions, and a match rating of just 5.99, as per Whoscored. That’s not good enough, especially for a side who are struggling to get the fundamentals right. As a consequence, Noble really is Manuel Pellegrini’s only option, and at the very least, this new report should be cause for some cautious optimism.
