West Ham United’s chances of beating Crystal Palace on Saturday have gone up a notch as Cheikhou Kouyate is expected to sit out through injury, as reported by Football.London.
The Hammers sold the defensive midfielder to the Eagles in the summer for a reported £9.5million plus add-ons, and the 29-year-old has gone on to become one of Roy Hodgson’s top performers.
At some stages of the season, his sale looked to have cost the Hammers points, especially when injuries ripped through Manuel Pellegrini’s midfield and Robert Snodgrass had to become a surprisingly versatile central midfielder.
Had the sale not gone through, the Chilean would have instead been able to call on a 55-cap international, who has recorded 60 tackles, 12 interceptions, 21 blocks and 633 passes in 24 games.
The Senegal international, however, is unlikely to feature against his former side on Saturday, as Football.London understands the defensive midfielder has not yet recovered from an ankle injury.
Kouyate has been sidelined with the blow since the Eagles’ 1-1 draw at Southampton on January 30, which left Hodgson forced to shift back into a 4-4-2 rather than his recently favoured 4-3-3.
