West Ham United 'furious' after star player injured on international duty

West Ham United are 'furious' after one of their star players, Michail Antonio, suffered an injury while on international duty with Jamaica that could see him ruled out of action for the remainder of the 2023/24 Premier League season.

Antonio was brought off in the first half of Jamaica's game against Canada in their CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final first leg, which saw the Reggae Boyz fall to a 2-1 defeat. It is thought that he picked up an injury to his medial knee ligament and went on to play an additional ten minutes after the injury was initially sustained. This has sparked the Hammers' ire, due to Jamaica's decision to keep him on the pitch - they also raised their concerns regarding the poor condition of the pitch at Kingston’s Independence Park. The extent of Antonio's injury is currently unclear - he may only be out for as little as six weeks.

Antonio has made 14 appearances for West Ham this season, scoring two goals and notching up two assists across all competitions.

Who will take Michail Antonio's place in the West Ham squad?

West Ham, despite the heavy investments they made in the summer, are not blessed with an abundance of strikers. They have just two other centre-forwards in their squad - Danny Ings and Divin Mubama.

Additionally, neither of these players are even remotely similar to Antonio in terms of how they play. They both like to play off the shoulder of the last man, in contrast to Antonio's hold-up play and physical style.

If the injury to Antonio renders him unable to play for the rest of the season, the Irons will need to purchase a striker in January. David Moyes' system is reliant on having a striker who can hold up the ball - without this, their attacking threat will be greatly nullified.