Although West Ham were able to ease past Newport County in the League Cup in a 2-0 win, it wasn’t all good news for the east London side.
Michail Antonio, a player Manuel Pellegrini has used often based on the winger’s 42 appearances under the Chilean as numbers from Transfermarkt show, was forced off early on in the game against the League Two side as the 30-year-old attacker collapsed to the ground clutching his hamstring.
With the West Ham boss admitting to Football London the extent to the injury is currently unknown, Antonio could be miss up to six weeks of football with the Hammers.
Indeed, Antonio will be a miss for West Ham given his versatility in the starting XI as positional numbers from Transfermarkt show, and with no natural left-winger in the squad aside from Felipe Anderson, Pellegrini finds himself with a problem. Or does he?
The 30-year-old attacker will be a loss for West Ham, of course, but his absence and lack of a replacement in the first-team could force the Chilean to bring a youngster from the academy into the senior squad as Antonio recovers.
With the success of Declan Rice last season that saw the West Ham academy player assert himself as a first-team member of the starting XI and eventually a full England international, Pellegrini could yet again repeat this achievement but on a smaller scale.
With the likes of Nathan Holland and Xande Silva impressing in the development league, either winger could make the step-up to the first-team and take a place on the West Ham bench, something both youngsters have done in the past in the Premier League.
Pellegrini has shown to have faith in youth with West Ham and give them a chance when the opportunity arises, and with Antonio set for a spell out on the injury table, the Hammers boss can yet again give a promising youngster a platform to be part of the first-team and hand them an opportunity to impress with the senior squad.
