West Ham United have numerous players away on international duty with their respective nations this summer.
The sheer volume of players West Ham currently have on international duty is a sign of how much progress we’ve made over the past few years.
Julen Lopetegui has the makings of a very good squad at the London Stadium, but he obviously still needs to strengthen his ranks considerably this month.
And the latest injury news concerning one Hammers player may well expedite the need for one signing in particular…
Edson Alvarez is currently away with Mexico at the Copa America, and he was in the starting lineup for his country’s clash with Jamaica out in Houston.
Unfortunately for the 26-year-old West Ham midfielder though, he was forced off with an injury after just 30 minutes.
Some injuries are worse than others, and this one looked particularly bad…
West Ham blow as Edson Alvarez suffers injury on international duty
The former Ajax man was a key player for the Hammers last season, after he moved to the London Stadium for around £34 million.
Alvarez took to the Premier League like a duck to water – something that’s easier said than done when moving from the Eredivisie.
He proved to be the glue that held the Hammers together last season, especially when we tried to play out from the back.
West Ham looked all over the place when Alvarez didn’t play, and that’s what makes the latest injury news so concerning.
The midfielder was forced off during the Mexico vs Jamaica clash with a nasty looking hamstring injury.
The Mexicans won the game 1-0 in the end, but they had to play for an hour without one of their very best players in the form of Alvarez.
And what makes the hamstring injury he suffered so worrying is the player’s reaction as he left the field of play.
The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas shared a picture on X of Alvarez leaving the pitch in tears last night:
That really doesn’t look good at all does it.
Players usually know themselves when they’ve suffered a serious injury, and Alvarez’s reaction to being forced off the pitch early tells us all we need to know.
West Ham have so many players away on international duty, so there is always the worry that one of them will return injured.
It’s just such a shame that Alvarez has picked up such a nasty looking injury, and ruined his Copa America tournament in the process.
Now it remains to be seen just how bad the hamstring injury is. If Alvarez is ruled out for the long-term, the need for Lopetegui to sign a defensive midfielder this summer will become all the more urgent.
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