Antonio might need a rest

Michail Antonio has now been subbed in successive games with the big suspicions being it may be down to tight hamstrings.

Last week we were told it was a purely precautionary measure and that the ice and strapping on his leg spotted during the Spurs player celebration was normal standard procedure for Antonio.

After the match yesterday David Moyes suggested it may be a cramping problem and an insider confoirmed that to CandH but explained he was off for a scan on Monday morning.

There’s always the possibility of course that  club is  trying to play it down although Moyes did say he HOPED it wasn’t a more serious issue!

Antonio is no stranger to hamstring problems and his pace and muscular build mean he more susceptible than others.

Antonio is a very important player since Project restart scoring eleven goals in fifteen games but we need a plan B when he is inevitably injured.

He has suffered a number of groin and hamstring injuries throughout this West Ham career, in 2017 he missed 124 days with a hamstring tear and in March 2018 he suffered another hamstring tear which kept him out for 132 days.

Like many players, he has special training programmes to reduce the risk of hamstring injuries but the sheer number of games since project restart must be taking their toll.

Maybe he needs a rest no matter  the result of the scan.