So now we know the diagnosis: West Ham United striker Pablo is facing six to eight weeks out with a calf injury.
And honestly… is anyone really surprised?
The €20m forward from Gil Vicente FC simply never stops running.
It’s often said that all West Ham fans really want is 100% effort. Pablo gives that — and then some.
The 23-year-old covers so much ground that he’s usually running on fumes by the hour mark. In fact, he’s one of the few footballers I’ve genuinely seen run himself into exhaustion.
Which makes it no shock at all that he featured against Burnley while clearly not right — an appearance that has almost certainly aggravated the injury.
And knowing Pablo, I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if he told Nuno Espírito Santo he felt fine. He seems exactly that type of player.
Could Pablo Still Play a Big Part in West Ham’s Run-In?
By my own rough guesswork — and it’s fair to say I know absolutely nothing about muscle injuries — Pablo could potentially be back around the clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers on 11 April.
If that proves accurate, it would leave him available for West Ham’s final seven Premier League matches — and of course the FA Cup semi-final and final!
Because Pablo had already started to look like a key piece in Nuno’s system, particularly alongside Taty Castellanos.
But if West Ham can get him back for the business end of the season, his energy, work rate and willingness to run through brick walls could make all the difference in the squeaky bum time relegation run-in.
Antonio was the same. Used to run himself into the ground. Which is great if they’re only expected to play for sixty or seventy minutes max but then you need someone to come off the bench and keep up the pace.
Just having a guy setting such an example around the others is a big boost in itself. We have missed this enthusiasm for years.
If the youngsters can pick up on the vibe too then they will also begin to enjoy and appreciate playing for West Ham.
Uplifting news Gonzo. Keep it up. Well done and thanks.
COYI
Well said Taffy, and even better news today from Nuno which I’m just writing now.
I’m hardly an elite athlete but have suffered numerous calf injuries over the years and they are really difficult to deal with as they don’t hurt massively and just really impede your run or walk after a while you get no adverse reaction but when you start to run again it comes back even it seemed it had gone. So I can understand how they would have riled him against Burnley. Just hope he gives it a lot of rest and does come back for the last month of the season as we need him as he has been a great buy for just his work ethic
Great piece Gonzo I love the bloke if other players put in the same effort we wouldn’t be in this mess