According to Football Insider, West Ham United quartet Lukasz Fabianski, Winston Reid, Ryan Fredericks and Mark Noble are doubtful for Saturday’s clash against Athletic Bilbao, and it is not a news the Hammers want to hear right now.
The London Stadium outfit play Manchester City in the opening weekend of the new Premier League season, and manager Manuel Pellegrini has plans to use the last game of the pre-season against the La Liga giants as the last opportunity to prepare his side against his former side.
The four of them were unable to feature in the 5-3 laborious victory against Hertha Berlin last night, and having them unavailable for the Bilbao clash will count as a blow.
Noble is suffering from a dead leg, while Fredericks is yet to recover from a groin injury.
Both players failed fitness tests prior to yesterday’s clash, and West Ham will now wait for further assessments on them ahead of weekend’s clash.
Fabianski picked up a groin injury during the warm-up for the game, while Reid was rested as the medical team continues to monitor his situation after plenty of long-term injuries recently.
While the New Zealand international isn’t expected to start or play against Man. City, the other injured trio would all be expected to start if fit and available for selection, and Pellegrini will be left sweating over their fitness in the coming days.
Manchester City have proven a hard nut to crack for West Ham in recent seasons, and were also too much for them to handle again during the Premier League Asia Cup.
The Hammers lost 4-1 to the EPL reigning champions, and will be hoping to get a result next week Saturday after suffering a 4-0 loss the last time the Etihad Stadium outfit came to the London Stadium.
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