West Ham handed huge injury boost for Aston Villa which could see 10/10 star dropped
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Crysencio Summerville could return to the squad after missing just one game for West Ham with a calf problem.
West Ham are expected to welcome back key man Crysencio Summerville for the trip to Aston Villa on Sunday as Nuno Espirito Santo’s survival fight continues.
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The Hammers picked up a somewhat unexpected point against Manchester City at the London Stadium on Saturday night but remain in the relegation zone. West Ham are level on points with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest and one point off Tottenham Hotspur in 16th.
The draw against Manchester City was achieved without Summerville in the squad, a huge blow for the side. The winger picked up a calf niggle in the FA Cup win over Brentford last week but Claret & Hugh reports that he is likely to come back into the side at Villa Park.
If fit, the winger is the first name in the starting XI, having bagged seven goals since the turn of the calendar year. His absence against Manchester City had seen Nuno turn to five at the back.
In that match, Konstantinos Mavropanos stood out with a performance rated 10/10 by Hammers News. The defender scored the equaliser and worked hard to keep talisman Erling Haaland quiet all game.
Nuno handed team selection dilemma by potential West Ham injury boost
However, Summerville’s return could see Nuno return to a back four and choose to rest Mavropanos or Jean-Clair Todibo, who was also superb against Manchester City.
Former West Ham star Joe Cole had praised Nuno’s versatility in changing things up against Manchester City. He told The Dressing Room: “You need to get a bit of luck, right? Obviously, you’ve lost your best player, arguably, Summerville. So he’s injured.
“And I think Nuno, if he was fit, would have gone [with a] back four – the same thing, because everything’s going well, just a bit of momentum. And I think Man City would have probably won the game.
“But he’s out, and then it’s made Nuno think, ‘Right, I’m not going to go like for like. I’m going to bring an extra centre-half in.’ And they marshalled Haaland better.”
In other news, Mikel Arteta issues 'very, very good' verdict on standout West Ham player.