Stuart Pearce has explained the omission of Michail Antonio from the squad for West Ham United’s clash with Manchester United tonight despite travelling to Old Trafford, when speaking to Sky Sports (Wednesday September 22nd, 19:32).
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Antonio missed the Hammers’ Premier League clash with the Red Devils on Sunday through suspension.
Because of that, some thought that the 31-year-old might get selected by David Moyes tonight.
Pre-game talk on social media suggested that Antonio was set to start against Manchester United after he was spotted leaving the West Ham bus that arrived at Old Trafford.
Stuart Pearce clears up Michail Antonio omission from West Ham squad
David Moyes is obviously keen to keep the powerful attacker fresh for the more important games that we have on the horizon.
Leeds away will be an incredibly tough match. And we will need Michy to be at his very best.
There were some concerns that Antonio had suffered an injury in the warm-up ahead of tonight’s game against Man United after he was spotted at Old Trafford.
Stuart Pearce allayed those fears, however:
“We didn’t see fit to play him this evening, simple as that. Mich wanted to be here and be part of it. We’re a pretty close squad so everyone’s turned up and wants to be part of it. And we’ve got a big game coming up at Leeds on Saturday. So it was just a selection issue, Mich’s perfectly fit.”
Thank God for that! It’s great that Moyes isn’t running Antonio into the ground.
We need him to be rested as often as possible this season, considering the fact that he’s our only striker.
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Let’s hope that Moyes’s decision is vindicated on Saturday away at Leeds.
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