West Ham United manager Nuno Espírito Santo has confirmed what Claret & Hugh exclusively reported earlier today — Pablo is injured and will not feature against Burton Albion on Saturday.
And in a further twist, the Hammers boss told assembled reporters that the problem could stretch well beyond this weekend’s FA Cup tie at the London Stadium.
Speaking to the media, Nuno said:
“He (Pablo) is injured unfortunately. He’s going to be out for a while — we don’t know for how long just at the moment, but we’ll assess it day by day.”
Earlier today, when Claret & Hugh contacted a top London Stadium source to ask whether the £20m striker would be available for the FA Cup, the response was blunt:
“No, unfortunately not.”
Questions Raised Over Burnley Cameo
The January signing could be seen hobbling almost immediately after his introduction as a substitute against Burnley, prompting obvious questions over why he was used at all if he was already carrying an injury.
It now appears West Ham may be without their new striker for longer than first feared — another frustrating setback at a time when the squad can ill afford any more absentees.
We have a game against lower league opposition to test out Cummings, Ajala, or Landers. Possibly all 3.
I personally don’t care about a cup run when we’re on the verge of relegation, others may disagree, but I’d rather use Burton as a test for some of the youngsters and fringe players.
We rarely get this kind of opportunity these days. I’d certainly play Kilman, Walker Peters, and let Adama have a start. Maybe he can burn off some “roid rage” in the process.
It does beg the question “Who made the decision to play an obviously injured player?” The obvious answer would be Nuno, which would just add to the increasing list of “odd” decisions he has made. Given the circumstances and the opposition, was there no other option? Or perhaps the extent of his injury is just another red herring?