David Moyes has said he is concerned that international duty could take its toll on Michail Antonio. The West Ham striker missed their FA Cup extra-time win at Kidderminster on Saturday because he was flying back from Jamaica, for whom he started three World Cup qualifiers in seven days, one in Panama City, in which he scored a penalty.
Moyes has criticised the schedule and said he is worried the long-haul travel could prove detrimental.
Antonio is Moyes’s only senior recognised striker after the manager failed to add to his squad in January. Jarrod Bowen led the line in Antonio’s absence at sixth-tier Kidderminster and, despite scoring the winning goal in the final minute of extra time, West Ham lacked a focal point.
The 31-year-old instead trained on Saturday after returning to London late on Friday following defeat to Costa Rica, which ended Jamaica’s hopes of qualifying for Qatar 2022.
“He has been away a couple of times now and I’ve had concerns about it, yes, because it is new to him,” Moyes said. “It is not something he has been doing it since he was 21 or 22 or something like that. Obviously they are long travels if you’re going to Jamaica … they’re long journeys to play the games. But I’ll never stop anybody if they want to play for their chosen country.”
Antonio, who was an unused substitute for England under Sam Allardyce in 2016, made his Jamaica debut last year and in March he is expected to be called up for another triple-header of matches.
The forward is set to return to West Ham’s starting lineup when they host Watford in the Premier League on Tuesday. Moyes introduced Declan Rice and Craig Dawson at half-time at Aggborough but Kurt Zouma and Bowen ended up playing 121 minutes.
“I quite like the boys playing extra time because it makes 90 minutes a lot easier once you’ve played 120,” said Moyes, whose side were handed a trip to Southampton in the fifth round draw.
“I’m quite happy, maybe get them back into better shape. They had a week off and maybe they needed it, so hopefully it gets them in better condition. The biggest thing now is [that] the players make sure they get back to the levels they can show.”
