West Ham United winger Manor Solomon is struggling with back pain while on international duty with Israel, raising fresh concerns about his fitness ahead of the Hammers’ Championship clash with Preston North End.
According to Israeli publication Walla Sport, Solomon was only able to complete part of Wednesday’s training session ahead of Saturday’s Nations League match against Kosovo. The winger participated in the opening stages before withdrawing from the remainder of the session.
A further report on Thursday morning suggested that Solomon remained a doubt for the fixture, with his fitness due to be assessed again. There has been no confirmed withdrawal from the Israel squad, but given his recent problems, this is hardly the news West Ham supporters will have wanted to hear.
West Ham Must Be Careful With Solomon
I am fully aware I might be contradicting myself here, having previously wanted Solomon to play for his country as a way of kick-starting his West Ham form. But this injury concern does cast the situation in a completely new light.
I understand that the left winger is an important player for Israel, but as I’ve made the case repeatedly, I believe his poor form is a direct result of him being overplayed by his country during the last international break.
Indeed, Claret & Hugh reported Solomon’s back problems during the October international break, when a club source confirmed that the winger was suffering considerable pain.
And if he is injured, or even feeling some pain in training, there is no way he should be risked against Kosovo.
There is simply too much at stake for West Ham to have a player returning from international duty in a worse physical condition than when he left.
Edvin Austbø Has Moved Ahead In West Ham Pecking Order
That said, I do think Edvin Austbø has moved ahead of Solomon in the pecking order to start against Preston on West Ham’s left wing.
Solomon has struggled to find his best form, while Austbø has been pushing hard for an opportunity to impress new gaffer Scott Parker. Even if both players return fully fit, I would be inclined to give the Norwegian the starting place.
But with the competition in the EFL Championship starting to get very serious, I do hope that West Ham officials will be on to the Israel national team, pleading with them not to play Solomon unless he is 100% fully fit.
There is no suggestion at this stage that Solomon will miss the Preston match, and hopefully this turns out to be nothing more than a precaution.
However, given what happened during the previous international break, surely the sensible thing is to avoid taking any unnecessary risks.
Let’s hope it’s long term
I think he’s been carrying a problem for about 7/8 weeks now, obvious looking at form, but why continue to play the bloke. Hopefully honest Scott Parker will do the right thing.