Huge blow: West Ham facing late setback before Kidderminster, fans will be worried - opinion

West Ham United manager David Moyes is facing a major blow over Michail Antonio ahead of his side’s FA Cup fourth round clash on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Kidderminster, Moyes said: “Michail will arrive back today from Jamaica which, as you can imagine, is not particularly good.

“It is a terrible situation. Players will be away and others will be at the Africa Cup of Nations, meaning their clubs have not got them — but this was an international week.

“The scheduling of all the games is really tough for the people doing it. People are trying to squeeze games [in] and the people who get affected are the players, first and foremost. But if you’re a club paying their wages you would say it is hardly correct to get your player back at 11am on Friday to play the Saturday at 12.30pm.”

After going through a bit of a goal drought towards the end of last year – he went on a run of eight games without scoring between October and December – Antonio has recently found a bit of form once more.

He has bagged two goals and provided another two assists in his past six games, and is joint-top of the charts for the Hammers’ top scorers this season alongside Jarrod Bowen.

It’s no surprise then that Antonio’s development has earned some high praise, not least from the likes of former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips, who said: “You have to give a lot of credit to the player. What he has done over the past few seasons has been nothing short of incredible. It’s phenomenal how he’s adapted his game.

“He is such a crucial player for West Ham. Without him in the side, they’re not the same team. When he’s fit, blimey, he’s a real handful. He is a player I really enjoy watching.