West Ham have explained why Gianluca Scamacca and a big name trio are missing from the FA Cup squad to face Brentford.
The Hammers have a weekend away from the pressures of the Premier League with a trip to Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
David Moyes had hinted at ringing the changes for West Ham’s trip across London.
But in actual fact the Scot only ended up naming four changes from the West Ham side that started against Leeds on Wednesday night.
Many West Ham fans have voiced concern after the squad was named and striker Gianluca Scamacca was nowhere to be seen.
Supporters also fully expected to see back-up goalkeeper Alphonse Areola get a rare West Ham start given it is a cup competition. But he too is not in the Hammers squad.
Manuel Lanzini was mentioned by Moyes in his pre-match press conference and was also expected to be in with a shout of starting for West Ham. But the Argentine midfielder is not in the squad.
There is no Vladimir Coufal either but he – like injured Maxwel Cornet and recovering Kurt Zouma – was less of a surprise after taking a heavy blow in a poor tackle during West Ham’s draw with Leeds.
Now West Ham have explained why Scamacca and the big name trio are missing from the FA Cup squad to face Brentford.
In a team news update on the club’s official website, West Ham explained that Scamacca, Lanzini, Areola and Coufal are all unavailable due to injury.
There is relief, though, as the club has described the injuries to Scamacca and Lanzini as ‘minor knocks’. The injuries to Coufal and Areola do not sound too serious either, being described as ‘knocks’.
“(Ben) Johnson replaces Vladimír Coufal, who is ruled out of the fixture after picking up a knock against Leeds United…” the website states.
“Gianluca Scamacca, who scored his seventh goal of the season last time out, is not included in the matchday squad for Brentford due to a minor knock. Manuel Lanzini is also not involved for the same reason…
“With Alphonse Areola also unavailable for Saturday’s trip to west London due to a knock.”
Let’s hope they are all available when West Ham visit Wolves for a crucial game next weekend.