West Ham United have as many as six injury concerns going into their Boxing Day clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
After a break of 38 days from competitive football, the Hammers head to north London to face Mikel Arteta’s side who currently sit top of the Premier League table after a stunning first few months of the season in England’s top-flight.
Going into the game, Irons boss David Moyes has an increasing list of injury concerns. With a week to go before the trip to Arsenal, here is a look at who is injured in the Hammers’ squad and their chances of being available to feature.
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Kurt Zouma (knee)
Centre-back Kurt Zouma underwent knee surgery at the end of November and has missed all three of the Hammers’ mid-season friendlies against Cambridge United, Udinese and Cambridge.
Zouma has been a regular for the Hammers so far this term, starting in all but one of their 15 league matches this season prior to being forced off in the first half against Leicester City in West Ham’s last competitive match.
It is unclear how long Zouma will be out for at present, with no official word yet on an expected return date, but the trip to Arsenal seems considerably too close for him to feature.
Maxwel Cornet (calf)
Having returned to training with the rest of the group at the end of November, winger Maxwel Cornet has suffered another setback on his return to action.
Having not featured since making his full Premier League debut for West Ham on October 1, Cornet missed all three friendlies as he continues to work towards full fitness.
Speaking about his injury after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Fulham, first team coach Billy McKinlay said: "He won't be fit for the next couple of games, I wouldn't think, but hopefully he won't be too far away."
Nayef Aguerd (groin)
Moroccan centre-back Nayef Aguerd has been away at the 2022 World Cup with Morocco, helping them finish fourth at the tournament and become the first side ever from Africa to reach the semi-finals.
Aguerd had played every minute at the tournament until being forced at the back end of the second half against Spain in the round of 16. Aguerd missed the quarter-final win over Portugal and the semi-final defeat to France, despite being named in the starting 11 against France before struggling in the warm-up. He was also left out of the third-place play-off defeat to Croatia on Saturday.
The fact that Aguerd was close to returning against France suggests that it is not a long-term injury, with West Ham hopeful of having him back soon ahead of a busy couple of weeks of fixtures of Christmas.
Gianluca Scamacca (ankle)
Italian striker and this season’s current top scorer Gianluca Scamacca has not scored for the Hammers since the 3-1 win over Fulham on October 9.
The former Sassuolo forward, who has played in all three mid-season friendlies, went off with an ankle injury in the first half against the side he last scored against on Saturday following a strong challenge from former Irons colleague Issa Diop.
Speaking after the game, McKinlay said: "He just rolled his ankle, so we are not quite sure, but we were not taking any chances.
"We don't know the severity of it just yet, but we will get a better idea in the next couple of days and we will go from there."
Aaron Cresswell (hamstring)
Aaron Cresswell’s mid-season has been disrupted after going off just ten minutes into the 4-2 win over Cambridge 13 days ago with concerns over his hamstring.
Since then, Cresswell has not featured in either squads that have travelled to Udinese or Fulham.
On Cresswell, McKinlay said: "Aaron [Cresswell] went off at Cambridge with a tight hamstring. He is progressing well, but this game came a bit early for him,” giving him a chance of being involved at Arsenal.
Michail Antonio (thigh)
Striker Michail Antonio scored the Hammers’ third goal during their 3-1 win over Udinese nine days ago, but missed the draw at Fulham over concerns on a thigh issue sustained in training.
The Jamaican international had previously started at Cambridge and came off the bench in Italy, currently sat as joint-second top scorer this season on five goals.
While McKinlay did not speak directly on Antonio, he hoped that issues to Antonio, Cresswell and Cornet were all short-term ones.
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