West Ham fans have had a lot of top players who have grown into fan favourites at the Boleyn Ground and The London Stadium. One of those is undoubtedly Winston Reid, however, the 31-year-old has seen his career come to a massive halt because of injury issues over the last 19 months.
Way back in March 2018 the New Zealander picked up a freak injury against Swansea. After being knocked unconscious during the game against the Swans the defender fell awkwardly and twisted his knee, requiring surgery and seeing him miss a massive chunk of time.
Reid is still just 31-years-old, but it now looks like his race may have been run at the club. It was only six years ago that the defender was named as the club’s Hammer of the Year for 2013, and it’s Reid who holds the honour of being the final goalscorer at The Boleyn Ground (BBC).
Now, though, those days look a long way away. The defender is still sidelined and despite the fact that The Evening Standard claimed that he could be set to feature for the Irons’ U23s against Stoke City’s U23s on Monday night, yet when that game came around he wasn’t involved.
Even if Reid did make it back for that game, which he obviously didn’t, the former FC Midtjylland defender would still need to build up his match fitness and work his way back into first-team contention, something which is so much easier said than done.
The two first-choice options at West Ham this season in central defence are Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna with Fabian Balbuena waiting in the wings. However, if the Paraguayan international cannot make it into the senior side, then Reid stands an even smaller chance of getting his shot again.
Whether or not he’ll make it and play again at the top level is yet to be seen, but if he does, doing it with West Ham looks like a long shot, and it could be time for the defender to either leave the club or hang up his boots, depending on how his recovery and building of match fitness goes.
