David Moyes says he has concerns over Michail Antonio’s West Ham form being affected by international travel to and from Jamaica, but insists he would never stop a player representing their country.
Antonio was unavailable for West Ham’s FA Cup tie at Kidderminster on Saturday, having only landed back in the UK on Friday afternoon.
The 31-year-old switched allegiance to represent Jamaica earlier this season but saw dreams of going to the World Cup in November go up in smoke with defeat to Costa Rica this week.
Focus now returns to West Ham, though following the previous international break, Antonio went six games without scoring a goal for the Hammers, leaving Moyes with understandable worries.
“I’ve had concerns about it, yeah, because it’s new to him,” said Moyes.
“It’s not something he’s been doing since he was 21 or 22 or something like that.
“Obviously, they’re long travels if you’re going to Jamaica or Costa Rica or wherever it was. They’re long journeys to play the games.
“I’ll never stop anybody if they want to play for their chosen country.”
Moyes added: “Of course he’s an international player so he can go away again in March.
“The only game we’ve missed without Mic is this one [against Kidderminster]. He’s been here the rest of the time. We left at 2pm on Friday and Mic hadn’t turned up at the training ground yet so we weren’t able to use him.”
As well as having to manage Antonio’s load, Moyes must weigh up whether those who played 120 minutes at Kidderminster are ready to go again against Watford on Tuesday, though the Scot sees an advantage in having to go the distance.
“I’m actually a bit the opposite,” said Moyes.
“I quite like the boys playing extra-time because it makes 90 minutes a lot easier once you’ve played 120, so I look at it completely differently to other people.
“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 the players to make sure they get back to the levels they can show.”
