According to talkSPORT, West Ham United are set to be without Konstantinos Mavropanos in their Europa League quarter-final showdown with Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday evening.
The Hammers will be hoping they can turn things around by using their home tie advantage with Leverkusen to come back from a 2-0 deficit on Thursday evening at the London Stadium.
However, David Moyes has plenty of obstacles to overcome ahead of the climax of the quarter-final clash, as he is battling to get some of his best players fit and available for selection in time for the game.
With less than two days left until the Irons host Xabi Alonso’s Bundesliga Champions, the Scottish manager will be sweating over a late fitness test for Jarrod Bowen and will be unable to call upon Lucas Paqueta and Emerson Palmieri as the duo are suspended for the fixture.
Now it is looking like Moyes will also be without centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos, as he suffered an injury issue in the Premier League clash with Fulham at the weekend.
The Greek titan was forced off the pitch during the league defeat at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon, and it is being reported that the defender will not be fit to start against Leverkusen.
talkSPORT is reporting that Mavropanos is set to join Kalvin Phillips and Alphonse Areola on the list of players who are unavailable for selection through injury for the Leverkusen clash.
Will Mavropanos be a huge miss?
There is no doubt that struggled against Fulham at the weekend, but he has been a consistent and reliable performer for the Hammers this season so far and will be missed in the defensive set-up against Leverkusen’s tenacious attackers.
The Greece international will likely need to be replaced with Nayef Aguerd, a player who hasn’t been as dominant in his role when called upon over the campaign so far.
As a result, Mavropanos will be a big miss for the East Londoners on Thursday night, but Moyes will be hoping that the potential return of Bowen could give West Ham a much-needed attacking boost to get the side back into the tie.
With that being said, we won’t know whether Bowen will be ready or not until Moyes speaks in his press conference later today, but undoubtedly the England forward will be desperately needed to turn things around tomorrow night.
