West Ham manager David Moyes has confirmed Angelo Ogbonna will not be fit to face Nottingham Forest tomorrow (Sunday).
Ogbonna has been out for the entire calendar year with a serious knee injury and is nearing the typical return date for his diagnosis. But the game at the City Ground has come too soon for the defender, who will miss out against Forest.
Speaking to the media in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Moyes gave an update on the defender's progress and confirmed he is "not ready yet" for a return to action. Ogbonna's injury leaves Kurt Zouma as the only out-and-out centre-back available to Moyes at Forest.
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Hammers academy graduate Ben Johnson has had to move inside from his natural full-back position and will likely have to do the same against Forest, a switch there to be exploited by Reds head coach Steve Cooper and his attackers.
"He's coming on. He's doing well," Moyes said of Ogbonna, per football.london. "He's been out eight-and-a-half, nine months, very similar to Ben Chilwell at Chelsea. I think Chilwell was maybe just a week or two before him.
"Angelo's going along fine. They're different ages, I'm only using that as a comparison. He's coming along nicely, but he's not ready yet to be considered for the first team."
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