West Ham United could have just been dealt a major blow ahead of two vitally important Christmas period fixtures.
David Moyes has a hectic Christmas period to navigate at West Ham, with must-win games against Freiburg in the Europa League and Wolves in the Premier League on the horizon.
The Hammers lost 5-0 last time out to Fulham, and the pressure is really on the players to bounce back now.
West Ham really missed Edson Alvarez against the Cottagers, after the Mexican was struck down with an illness in the build-up to the game.
The 26-year-old has proven to be a vital addition to our squad, and we are quite simply not the same team without him – he is undoubtedly the glue that holds our team together.
With that in mind, the latest update from club insiders is a hugely concerning one…
West Ham dealt Christmas period blow
According to Claret and Hugh, Alvarez could be set to miss our next two games against Freiburg and Wolves respectively, as he struggles to recover from his illness.
Not having the Mexican available for two games of such high importance would be a major blow for Moyes.
The Scot is under huge pressure right now, and bad results against Freiburg and Wolves could see his position become untenable.
The quality of football has been woeful this season but by and large, Moyes’s men have produced results when they’ve really needed to.
However, that may well prove to be nigh on impossible without Alvarez.
It’s a huge concern for West Ham that we don’t have cover for Alvarez – Tomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse are just not good enough to play the holding role in midfield.
Two wins from our next two games will set West Ham United up perfectly heading into the busy Christmas period.
However, without Alvarez, two victories will be very hard to come by. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the Mexican recovers in time to play both matches.
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