Devastating Angelo Ogbonna update as worrying rumours over serious injury blow for West Ham star proves true.
West Ham are flying high again this season and are fighting on all fronts.
The Hammers went into the international break third in the Premier League table following the memorable 3-2 win over Liverpool.
David Moyes’s boys are one game away from the Carabao Cup semi-finals and on the brink of sealing a place in the last 16 of the Europa League.
West Ham had been uncharacteristically unaffected by injuries so far this season too. And it shows in the statistics that Moyes has made the fewest changes to his Premier League starting XI so far this season with just four.
Until now.
That’s after worrying rumours that veteran defender Angelo Ogbonna had suffered a serious injury blow proved to be true.
The Italian injured his knee when chasing Mohamed Salah in the first half against Liverpool.
After some treatment on the side of the pitch Ogbonna played on. But he then suffered a blow to his eye after a sly elbow from Reds forward Diogo Jota which left him dripping with blood.
Ogbonna was subbed with Moyes not keen on trying to hold out with 10 men while the 33-year-old got stitched up and he was replaced by Craig Dawson.
Unverified speculation has been doing the rounds in West Ham circles on forums, WhatsApp groups and social media that Ogbonna has injured his cruciate ligament and could be out for the season.
West Ham insiders Claret and Hugh revealed yesterday that Ogbonna had been sent for a scan.
And now West Ham have unfortunately confirmed Ogbonna has injured his anterior cruciate ligament – aka ACL – which could indeed rule him out for the rest of the season.
He could clearly be seen testing the knee on the side of the pitch with the West Ham physios. He was able to put his weight on the knee and bend it.
And when the physios did what is known as a stress test on the knee while he was on the floor – where they bend the knee 45 degrees and push down on the shin to check for resistance – he clearly passed or he would not have been permitted to play on.
Ogbonna seemed to be moving freely until the elbow from Jota too.
Devastating Angelo Ogbonna update as worrying rumours over serious injury blow for West Ham star prove true
But the scan has reveals ligament damage and while West Ham have not put a timescale on his return, these injuries are almost always require around nine months recovery and sometimes surgery.
After being substituted following a separate incident that led to him suffering a cut above his eye, Angelo felt some discomfort in his right knee so we scanned him to ascertain the extent of the injury.
That scan has shown up some damage to the anterior cruciate ligament and we have begun his rehabilitation immediately.
Angelo will see another specialist this week and we will then have a clearer picture around his timeline of recovery.
Everyone at West Ham United would like to wish Angelo a full and timely recovery.
West Ham Head of Medical Richard Collinge – whufc.com
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