Jarrod Bowen has been ruled out of Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final clash with Bayer Leverkusen in a major blow to West Ham’s hopes of reaching another European semi-final.
Bowen was injured in a collision with Wolves’s Mario Lemina during Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Molineux and was forced off early in the second half, with assessments since revealing he will not be fit in time for this week's first-leg meeting with the Bundesliga leaders.
It is understood that his absence is expected to be short-term and that Bowen will return to help West Ham during a tricky run-in - not to mention push his own case for England's Euro 2024 squad - but he will not join his team-mates in Germany.
Hammers boss David Moyes is due to provide an update when speaking at the BayArena on Wednesday evening.
Bowen is enjoying a superb season for the Hammers with 19 goals in all competitions and 15 in the Premier League, just one shy of Paulo Di Canio’s club record.
The 27-year-old was the Irons’s European hero when scoring the dramatic late winner in last season’s Conference League Final in Prague, but Moyes will have to find a way to cope without his top-scorer as he searches for a way past Xabi Alonso’s in-form side.
Leverkusen are unbeaten in 41 matches across all competitions this season and are currently 16 points clear of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.
They could be crowned champions as early as this weekend, ahead of next week’s second leg at the London Stadium.
