David Moyes says he is hopeful that the injury which forced Jarrod Bowen off during Saturday’s victory at Wolves will not prove “too bad”, as West Ham look ahead to a crunch European meeting with Bayer Leverkusen.
Bowen limped off early in the second-half following a collision with Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina and headed straight down the tunnel for treatment.
The forward has been enjoying a superb season, with 19 goals and eight assists in all competitions, and his absence would be a huge miss as Moyes plots an upset against Xabi Alonso’s high-flying side.
“We’ve got to hope he’s OK,” Moyes said. "We need all our top players.
“He’s had a knee into his hip or back. It’s not a twist. He said he’s got kneed and he’s really stiff.
“I’ve had one or two of those myself and they don’t go away too quick. I’m hoping it won’t be too bad.”
West Ham trailed 1-0 at the time of Bowen’s departure, having fallen behind to Pablo Sarabia’s penalty in a first-half dominated by the home side.
The half-time introduction of Michail Antonio inspired an improved show, however, and Lucas Paqueta equalised from the penalty spot before James Ward-Prowse’s direct corner secured a vital 2-1 win.
There was, however, late drama when Max Kilman saw a 99th-minute equaliser disallowed by VAR, which ruled that substitute Tawanda Chirewa was offside in obscuring the view of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
“I think the two teams changed shirts at half-time,” Moyes said. “Wolves were the better team in the first half and dominated us. Second-half we were the better team. The first-half we were a yard slow everywhere.
"We’ve had so many poor decisions, it’s been unbelievable in recent weeks. I feel for Gary.
“The boy is definitely standing in the way of the goalkeeper. Whether he [Fabianksi] can save it…”
