West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini has provided an update on the fitness of two key Hammers players after Wednesday’s defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Chilean’s team were dismissed 2-0 by the hosts at Molineux in another dispiriting display. Midfielder Robert Snodgrass was substituted with a knock, while utility man Michail Antonio failed to play.
Pellegrini has the latest: “It was a risk for him to play this game,” he said of Antonio at his post match press conference, as per Football London. “He is not able to play and I hope he will be recovered for Monday.”
As for Snodgrass, Pellegrini’s verdict was he’d be OK for the Arsenal clash: “I think so. We will see tomorrow, he had a big kick to his chin but hopefully he will be OK.”
OPINION
West Ham certainly missed Antonio on Wednesday night, that’s for sure. The Englishman has provided a huge spark since returning to fitness off the bench against Tottenham Hotspur a couple of weeks ago. He scored in that game while he successfully led the line in the win over Chelsea last Saturday. The power, energy and pace of the 29-year-old has been a big boost for the Hammers recently, and when you take that away the team naturally suffers. We saw that against Wolves. Sebastien Haller put in another hugely disappointing performance. He just looks absolutely bereft of confidence, and he’s offering next to nothing to Pellegrini’s team at the moment. Then there’s Snodgrass, who took a nasty blow during the game. Still, if all he has to worry about is a kick to the chin, the former Scotland international will surely be fit to face the Gunners on Monday night.
