West Ham will be without key men Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta and Nayef Aguerd for tonight’s Premier League meeting with Brighton.
There has been uncertainty over Kudus’ availability for the fixture, with West Ham having initially hoped Ghana would allow the forward special dispensation to feature against the Seagulls before flying to join their squad ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations.
FIFA rules, however, dictate that players were to be released for the tournament on January 1, with Aguerd also absent tonight having already linked up with Morocco.
Kudus, though, is yet to travel to Ghana’s pre-tournament training camp as West Ham await a final verdict on what is thought to be a minor hamstring injury.
“We are expecting [him] to join the group, hopefully, in a few days,” Ghana boss Chris Hughton said on Monday. “He has a very slight injury issue that needs to be dealt with before he joins up.”
Depending on the progress of Ghana and Morocco, the latter of whom reached the World Cup semi-finals last year, David Moyes could be without both players for as many as six matches - or seven should the FA Cup third-round tie with Bristol City go to a replay.
The Hammers have been spared further disruption after both Said Benrahma and Maxwel Cornet were left out of their respective national squads.
AFCON, which is being held in Ivory Coast, starts on January 13 with the final scheduled for February 11.
In addition, Paqueta misses out due to the knee injury picked up in last week’s win over Arsenal.
