West Ham left short up front after Michail Antonio is ruled out for four months with hamstring injury

Injury blow: Michail Antonio underwent successful surgery on Tuesday
Action Images via Reuters
Ken Dyer4 September 2019

West Ham have been left with just two fit senior strikers following a serious hamstring injury to Michail Antonio which will rule him out for up to four months.

Wandsworth-born Antonio suffered the injury to his right leg in last week’s Carabao Cup tie at Newport and underwent successful surgery on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old Antonio, who usually occupies a wide role for West Ham but has also played as a central striker, spent almost five months out with a similar injury to his left leg in 2018 and now faces another lengthy rehabilitation period.

With West Ham yesterday the sale of Mexican international striker Javier Hernandez to Spanish club Sevilla for £7.2 million, the East London Premier League club are down to two fit senior central strikers in French front man Sebastien Haller, who has scored three goals in the last two games – and Swiss star Albian Ajeti, who has impressed manager Manuel Pellegrini in training but has yet to make his Premier League debut.

The sale of Hernandez is a calculated gamble by West Ham but the Mexican was in the final year of his contract and earning £140,000 per week.

His departure has meant that Pellegrini has added 22-year-old Portuguese striker Xande Silva to his designated Premier League squad.

Silva, who joined West Ham from Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes for £1.3 million in August 2018, is currently recovering from an emergency bowel operation during the summer but should be fit in just over a month’s time.

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