Declan Rice was 'lucky' to avoid serious injury in the 2-2 draw against Leeds United on Wednesday night, according to a BBC journalist.
West Ham United drew 2-2 at Elland Road, with Lucas Paqueta and Gianluca Scamacca turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead before the home side drew level.
However, in the opening 45 minutes, Leeds' star Rodrigo was shown a yellow card after his high boot caught Rice on the inside of his ear - but the Hammers skipper continued and finished the match.
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Though the challenge was unintentional, Simon Stone of the BBC believes that Rice was fortunate to not be hurt even more and that the England international 'could have been in trouble'.
“Declan Rice has a cut to the inside of his ear as a result of that challenge from Rodrigo,” said Stone via the BBC Sport live blog. “The West Ham skipper is lucky.
"Rodrigo didn’t put any force behind his challenge and there was no intent but a few centimetres the other way and Rice could have been in trouble.”
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