Mystery of Diafra Sakho absence

Diafra Sakho is missing from the squad which travelled to Sunderland.

And a club insider has confirmed late last night but couldn’t explain the reason why.

The official website listed the striker as hoping to be fit in their Sunderland preview which was published late afternoon yesterday.

The website said “West Ham United face a number of injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s game. Michail Antonio (hamstring) is definitely out after suffering an injury in the victory over Swansea City, while Winston Reid (thigh), Pedro Obiang (ankle) and Angelo Ogbonna (knee) are all on the sidelines.

Mark Noble serves a two-game ban after picking up his tenth booking of the season, but Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho and Aaron Cresswell will be hoping to be involved following their injuries. Sam Byram is available, despite rolling his ankle against Swansea”

Bilic told his pre-Sunderland press conference at Rush Green on Thursday morning that Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho and full-backs Sam Byram and Aaron Cresswell, should be available for selection for Saturday’s important fixture at the Stadium of Light.