Expert issues ‘major’ Manuel Lanzini claim after ‘extremely costly’ West Ham setback
Manuel Lanzini had a great chance to stake a claim in the West Ham starting lineup this month but suffered an unfortunately timed injury.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
Lanzini has fallen out of favour at West Ham, with summer signing Lucas Paqueta taking his place in David Moyes’ starting XI this season.
The Argentine midfielder has played just 123 minutes of Premier League football this season, starting just once for the Hammers.
A start looked likely last Saturday (7 January) when West Ham faced Brentford in the FA Cup, but an unfortunate knock in the build-up to the match saw Lanzini ruled out – he then returned to the bench for the Premier League clash against Wolves.
While Dinnery explains that the setback suffered by Lanzini was “minor”, he believes it proved “extremely costly” in terms of Lanzini’s opportunities this season.
“The injury itself was more of a precautionary measure with Lanzini,” Dinnery told Football Insider.
“It was nothing West Ham were overly concerned about, but it did prove extremely costly in terms of his playing time.
“He’s struggled to find many starts this season and has fallen down David Moyes’ pecking order.
“Lanzini has only started one Premier League game.
“The last week of fixtures – an FA Cup tie with Brentford and a Premier League clash with Wolves – he’d have seen that as a vital opportunity.
“So despite the injury being minor, it proved to be a major blow to the player himself.“
In other news, talks begin for West Ham over a possible £60million replacement deal