Jarrod Bowen Injury Scare Leaves West Ham Facing Huge West Brom Concern

West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has suffered an ankle scare in training ahead of Saturday’s Championship clash with West Bromwich Albion, adding another injury concern for manager Nuno Espírito Santo.

According to an eyewitness report published by Knees Up Mother Brown (KUMB), Bowen twisted his ankle approximately five minutes before the end of Tuesday’s training session at the London Stadium. The incident initially caused concern, although the encouraging news is that the Hammers skipper reportedly believes the injury is not serious and expects to be available against the Baggies.

Nevertheless, with Konstantinos Mavropanos already facing a spell on the sidelines and Mohamadou Kanté another fitness concern, the timing could hardly be worse. West Ham have enjoyed a remarkably good injury record over the past year, but suddenly Nuno finds himself confronting a problem that could have serious consequences for the club’s promotion ambitions.

West Ham Cannot Afford To Lose Bowen

West Ham supporters might disagree on Jarrod Bowen’s performances this season, but he remains the club’s most potent attacking weapon and, in my opinion, the single most important player when it comes to securing promotion.

As I mentioned in my earlier Claret & Hugh article, West Ham have enjoyed an incredible run with injuries for at least the past year. Much of the credit for that must go to the fitness of the squad and the club’s medical team.

But frankly, Bowen is the one player we cannot afford to lose.

The worrying thing is that, looking through West Ham’s squad, there is nobody remotely capable of replacing him.

KaiberLamadrid looks closer to League One level than the Championship at present. Manor Solomon hasn’t even been particularly good on the left wing this campaign, never mind demonstrating that he could play effectively on the right.

Another possibility would be shoehorning Kyle Walker-Peters into a right-wing position. After all, he does look better going forward than defending.

But none of those options carries anything like the attacking threat that Bowen provides.

Nuno Has No Obvious Bowen Replacement

This is where West Ham’s squad depth becomes a genuine concern.

Losing Mavropanos is a blow, but there are at least alternatives in central defence. Kanté has become increasingly influential, although Nuno has other midfielders who could potentially cover his absence.

Bowen is a completely different proposition.

He offers goals, creativity, movement and the ability to make something happen when West Ham are struggling. Even when he’s not playing particularly well, opposition defenders have to account for the threat he carries.

And the uncomfortable truth is that we don’t have another player who comes remotely close to providing the same qualities.

Hopefully, Bowen’s own assessment of his ankle proves correct and this turns out to be nothing more than a minor scare.

But the incident serves as a reminder of just how dependent West Ham are on their captain.

For all the money spent assembling a squad capable of winning promotion, there is still no convincing answer to one fairly obvious question.

What happens if Jarrod Bowen gets injured?