By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
I must be going soft in my old age because when I heard the rumours that former West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes had suffered an ACL injury, my immediate reaction was, “Poor lad.”
Honestly, I need to give my head a wobble.
After all, he’s only gone and signed for the old Tottenham Hotspur last month.
Rumours started doing the rounds this morning suggesting the Portuguese midfielder could be facing up to a year on the sidelines after picking up an injury during pre-season.
However, The Standard reports that Spurs are playing down those fears, with the situation not believed to be as serious as first suggested. That said, Roberto De Zerbie definitely seems to be sweating on the results of his medics.
The former Hammer has really impressed Spurs fans in pre-season judging by the feedback and it would be a blow to the North Londoners to lose him.
No Hard Feelings
The truth is, I don’t really had anything against Fernandes.
I was more than happy for Tottenham to hand over £85 million for him and, if anything, that deal worked out very nicely for West Ham (as long as we actually spend some of the money of course).
He was one of an increasing number of players who simply passed through the club. There was never the emotional connection you’ll always get from someone like Jarrod Bowen, who quite clearly bleeds Claret and Blue.
That said, Fernandes never kicked up a fuss.
He never refused to play, never caused problems and always seemed to conduct himself professionally.
So whilst I’d much rather Tottenham struggled than succeeded, I can’t honestly say I’d wish a serious injury on the lad.