West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic has admitted that he played through injury against Manchester United, The Daily Mail reports.
Arnautovic returned to the starting line-up as West Ham beat Man United 3-1 at The London Stadium.
And the physical centre-forward still has the injury which kept him out of the previous game – a 0-0 draw with Chelsea.
Despite playing through injury, Arnautovic still caused problems all afternoon for the Man United defence.
And he capped his performance with a well-taken goal to restore West Ham’s two-goal lead.
Arnautovic’s injury
Arnautovic has bruising on his knee, which forced him off against Everton. As a result, he sat out of the Chelsea clash.
Asked about his injury, he said: “The medical staff are talking to me and if they ask me if I’m ready to play, obviously I decide if I can be involved or not.
“It will continue to hurt for a while. I have a bone bruise on my knee and you can’t do anything about this, you need to wait until it’s going away.
“The medical staff working with me are confident so it’s all about being confident in your body and trusting your body.”
The 29-year-old has confirmed he will continue to fight through the pain barrier for West Ham’s cause.
Arnautovic’s importance
There is a fine line here and West Ham will not want to risk aggravating the injury.
But the truth is that West Ham are so much stronger with the Austria international in the starting line-up.
Arnautovic has so much strength, speed and ability on the ball, making him the perfect all-round centre-forward.
His role in the recent revival cannot be understated and West Ham will hope he is fit and firing for the long-term.
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