West Ham dealt hammer blow with key player set to miss next two games | OneFootball

West Ham United’s worst fears have been confirmed, with Lucas Paqueta set to miss their next two games with an ankle injury.

The Brazilian playmaker picked up the injury during Tuesday’s training session following an accidental collision with teammate Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Paqueta was immediately withdrawn from the session for medical assessment and looked visibly devastated as he made his way off the pitch.

Graham Potter later confirmed Paqueta will miss Saturday’s crucial Premier League clash against Arsenal. There’s also a chance he could be out for the subsequent home game against Leicester City.

“It was a training incident, really, just an innocuous one,” Potter explained during his pre-match press conference.

“He went over on his ankle after a bit of a collision with Aaron. He’ll be missing for the game, probably Leicester as well, so we’ll see how he is.

“He’s swollen up a bit, so I’d imagine he’ll be out for a week or two.”

Paqueta only just returned from a groin strain that kept him out of the 2-1 defeat against Chelsea, so his latest setback is a massive blow for West Ham.

With Crysencio Summerville and Niclass Fullkrug already ruled out until the international break with hamstring injuries, Potter will be scratching his head on how to manage the growing crisis.

Paqueta’s absence could pave the way for January addition Evan Ferguson to make his first start since joining on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion.

He showed glimpses of his potential when he came off the bench in the narrow defeat against Brentford, but Potter doesn’t want to overload him too quickly and risk another setback.

West Ham’s managerial change has done little to reverse their downward spiral, with Potter struggling to put points on the board.

His side have won just one of their five league games and sit precariously in 16th place, two places lower than when Julen Lopetegui was sacked.

They sit ten points above the drop zone but need to pick up the pace or risk being sucked into a relegation battle.