West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is expected to be out for four to six weeks with a knee injury that he picked up on international duty.
The 22-year-old is thought to have sustained the issue midway through the second half of England’s 2-1 win over Poland last week, and there are now fears he could miss the rest of the season.
Needless to say that supporters on Twitter were devastated by the news and many are concerned that their hopes of securing European football may have been dealt a fatal blow:
Cruel blow
— Iron Dragon ⚒️???????? (@IronDragon87) April 5, 2021
That’s that then
— John Miles (@WHUbluesman) April 5, 2021
In the grand scheme of injuries this is not a bad one, and you can recover quickly (can take a little longer if torn badly). Declan’s will be hopefully back soon enough. Hope Fornals, Bowen, Benhrama, Noble who have been rotated in midfield all take their chance.
— Darren Weston (@dalboyweston) April 5, 2021
Always gonna happen – it’s the West Ham way….whenever things are going great, something like this always happens….that’s why our song is so apt!
— Matt Edge-Wilkins (@mattedgewilkins) April 5, 2021
Gutted for Dec
— Karen Beard (@karenbeardy) April 5, 2021
Seasons done noble can’t run no other cm to replace him 8th at best for west ham now pic.twitter.com/w4bcEsrlTu
— lee (@LWillbourne) April 5, 2021
Although Rice has been a vital component of the starting eleven, it must be pointed out that West Ham’s excellent performances in the league this season have been a team effort. While beating the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea to a Champions League spot seems a lot less likely now, finishing in the European places should not be beyond the Hammers, even if they have to do it without a key player.