West Ham will treat Lucas Paqueta’s injury with greater care due to the rare nature of the Brazilian’s ligament issue, David Moyes has revealed.
The midfielder picked up the blow late on in West Ham’s draw against Southampton last weekend, raising fears he would miss several weeks of action with a serious injury.
However, Moyes confirmed Paqueta will return sooner than expected after the player named a two-week recovery time, but urged caution nonetheless.
“We don't think Lucas Paqueta's injury is as serious as first feared,” he told reporters.
“But the injury is not one that is normal for football players, so we need to treat it accordingly.”
West Ham face Bournemouth on Monday night before hosting Silkeborg in the Europa Conference League.
Moyes may have Maxwel Cornet back soon with the winger able to step up his recovery on the training pitches at Rush Green, and the manager set out his plans to rotate the line-up as the fixture schedule ramps up.
“I think we've got seven games to go between now and the World Cup break,” he added.
“We need to think about how we use the players well enough and who is ready for the job. You want to always play your best team but you sometimes need to change things to keep them fresher.”
