Nobody at West Ham has missed Lucas Paqueta more than David Moyes because his job is on the line because of it.
Lucas Paqueta is not just West Ham’s best player but one of the best players in the Premier League.
Any team would miss him. So one sorely lacking any depth like West Ham certainly have.
The Brazilian magnifico was last seen setting up Jarrod Bowen to take the lead within 10 minutes against Bristol City in the FA Cup in early January.
West Ham’s form has literally dropped off a cliff from the moment Paqueta left the pitch that day.
Paqueta blow sent West Ham’s season off a cliff
The Hammers went on to draw with the mid-table Championship side before being knocked out in the replay.
And West Ham have also failed to win any of their six Premier League games so far this year without playmaker Paqueta.
There had been claims Paqueta faced another month out.
I reported on Hammers News before the Forest game that Paqueta was set to be pictured back in training ahead of a return, to the squad at least, for Brentford.
And so it has proved it seems after the manager opened up on the Brazilian’s comeback.
Will Paqueta be back for Brentford?
Because now David Moyes has shared more detailed on the Paqueta situation ahead of the Brentford clash.
In his full Brentford press conference, which can be viewed on West Ham’s YouTube channel, the Hammers boss essentially confirmed Paqueta’s return for the Bees.
And the key words are ‘we’ve got him back’.
“Lucas Paqueta is back in training and very close to returning,” Moyes said.
“Hopefully that will give us a huge boost.
‘We’ve got him back’
“He’s certainly in contention for Monday night.
“But I’ll need to find out exactly where he is, but overall we’re so pleased that we’ve got him back in as it has been a while.”
Let’s hope the spell out has not reset Paqueta’s strength and fitness too much.
Because he was in supreme form before the lay-off. And West Ham need him to hit the ground running given the club’s long winless run.