Fans thought it West Ham’s official starting line-up announcement for Wolves was an April Fool’s prank.
After two weeks without a game Graham Potter declared he had no West Ham injury issues besides Crysencio Summerville for the Wolves clash.
So when the official team was announced over an hour before kick-off, it caused a huge stir among Hammers fans.
Chiefly because Mohammed Kudus, who has been linked with an £84m move to Al-Nassr, and £32m signing Jean-Clair Todibo were both left out.
So too was the ever-reliable Tomas Soucek, whose goals along with Jarrod Bowen this season have been the difference between a battle against relegation.
Fans thought West Ham line-up was April Fool’s prank
Rumour and speculation quickly ignited over the reasons for Kudus and Todibo being left out.
Hammers fans were particularly confused about Todibo given he was named on the bench with the much-maligned Konstantinos Mavropanos starting in his place.
Has Kudus had his head turned amid the talk of a mega money move to Saudi – which would see him playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Jhon Duran.
Todibo has also been linked with a move to Man United again this week after they were blocked from signing him by UEFA in the summer due to INEOS owning Nice and co-owning the Red Devils.
The French defender has struggled to string a run of starts together since joining West Ham.
Whether injured or falling out with the manager, Todibo’s first season at the club has been strange.
On his day he looks a top class centre-back. But West Ham fans have not seen it anywhere near enough.
Supporters were left scratching their heads over the omissions.
Now Potter has explained why the £116m West Ham duo were left out but something doesn’t add up.
Potter explains why Kudus and Todibo were left out
“It was difficult, we lost Mo (Kudus) to injury yesterday and Todibo as well, so we had to readjust quickly,” Potter explained on West Ham’s website after the dismal 1-0 defeat.
The loss of the duo was highlighted by the terrible displays of their stand-ins.
Mavropanos was awful again and at fault for the only goal of the game.
At the other end Evan Ferguson missed an absolute sitter to give West Ham the lead with the score at 0-0.
That’s some rotten luck to lose Kudus and Todibo in the same training session on the eve of a game.
Stranger things have happened in football of course.
But the explanation on Todibo doesn’t add up after he was named on the bench.
If the 24-year-old was deemed fit enough to be on the bench then he is surely fit enough to play.
If he is fit enough to play then – having had several weeks to build up his fitness – why didn’t he start?
Ahead of the game Todibo himself literally said he was now fully fit and raring to go.
“I feel really good,” said Todibo, who has made just 21 appearances for West Ham in an inauspicious debut season.
“My injury dragged on for a while, but I’ve gradually built my fitness back up and now I feel really good and ready to play.
Something doesn’t add up about Todibo
“I had to take it game-by-game, and the [Head] Coach managed me. I’ve been working as hard as I can, and I completed almost all of the Everton game, which was good. We’ve had the international break, which came at a good time for me, and now I’m ready to go.”
The fact Potter feels he could not risk Todibo suggests there is a real worry over whatever new injury he has picked up.
Kudus has rarely missed matches since arriving from Ajax so that must make him a doubt for Bournemouth on Saturday too.
West Ham still haven’t paid for Todibo yet.
His £32m fee kicks in this summer after he was signed on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy if he made five Premier League starts.
It was not that long ago Hammers chief David Sullivan was bemoaning that the Todibo deal has ‘hurt us’.
Perhaps these persistent injuries give a glimpse as to the thinking behind those comments.
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