TalkSPORT reports that Konstantinos Mavropanos will be absent from West Ham United’s match against Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday night in the Europa League quarterfinal.
On Thursday night at the London Stadium, the Hammers will be looking to turn things around by using their home tie advantage against Leverkusen to overcome a 2-0 deficit.
Ahead of the thrilling quarterfinal match, David Moyes must overcome many challenges as he struggles to have some of his best players healthy and available for selection in time for the match.
Less than two days remain before the Irons take on the Bundesliga Champions of Xabi Alonso, and the Scottish manager will be worrying about Jarrod Bowen’s late fitness test. He also won’t be able to use Lucas Paqueta and Emerson Palmieri because they are both suspended.
As of right now, it appears that Moyes will also be without centre back Konstantinos Mavropanos, who sustained an injury during the weekend’s Premier League match against Fulham.
The Greek giant was ejected from the pitch during Sunday afternoon’s league loss at London Stadium, and he is not expected to be ready to start against Leverkusen, according to reports.
According to talkSPORT, Mavropanos will be added to the list of players who are injured and will not be able to be selected for the Leverkusen match, along with Kalvin Phillips and Alphonse Areola.
Will Mavropanos be a huge miss?
Undoubtedly, he had a difficult game against Fulham over the weekend, but he has been a steady and dependable player for the Hammers so far this season. He will be missed in the defensive formation when facing the relentless attackers of Leverkusen.
The Greece international will probably have to make way for Nayef Aguerd, who hasn’t shown as much dominance in his role thus far this campaign.
Mavropanos will therefore be a huge loss for the East Londoners on Thursday night, but Moyes will be hoping that Bowen’s possible return could provide West Ham with a much-needed offensive boost to win the match.
Nevertheless, Bowen’s availability won’t be known until Moyes speaks at his press conference later today. The England forward will surely be crucial to turning things around tomorrow night.
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