West Ham United are currently surfing on a wave of success that has even caught FC Liverpool On Tuesday, however, there was bad news.
It was an emotional 3-2 home win over month-old unbeaten Liverpool FC that enraptured Hammers fans on Sunday. Two days later, however, there was a damper: centre-back Angelo Ogbonna is likely to be out for a long time due to an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The Italian had not missed a single Premier League minute this season (one goal) until his early substitution against the Reds.
Ogbonna was one of the main figures of the first 22 minutes at the London Stadium: after four minutes he decisively interfered with Liverpool keeper Alisson’s own goal, which made Jürgen Klopp furious afterwards. After 15 minutes, the 1.89 metre tall defender’s knee hurt, but that didn’t stop him yet. Ogbonna continued to play before a cut to his eye was to slow him down after 20 minutes. Craig Dawson replaced him in minute 22.
“Discomfort” leads to unscheduled scan
All the more surprising is the diagnosis West Ham made public on Tuesday. After the Liverpool game, Ogbonna complained of “discomfort in his right knee”, according to team doctor Richard Collinge. Only then did the medical department decide to carry out a scan. The scan showed “some damage to the anterior cruciate ligament”. Ogbonna will see a specialist this week to discuss the next steps.
With prop Ogbonna, West Ham United have played a remarkable Premier League season to date, with the Hammers currently third on 23 points – even ahead of Liverpool FC (22).