There will be no top-flight league football on the last weekend of January with the Premier League refusing to use the winter break as a chance to play the fixtures postponed due to COVID outbreaks.
West Ham have already played their one postponed match, much to David Moyes' annoyance, and will use the winter break as a chance for the majority of the squad to recharge their batteries.
However, not all the Hammers players will get a break, with a rare late January international break inserted into the football calendar.
The one-off January international window is due to the COVID-enforced postponement of FIFA World Cup qualifiers in the federations of Asia, Oceania, South America and North, Central America and the Caribbean.
Said Benrahma is already away on international duty with Algeria involved in the Africa Cup of Nations, however, such is the poor showing from his nation he may be back at the London Stadium sooner than expected.
Benrahma could be joined by two other Hammers on international duty, with Michail Antonio set for a Jamaica call-up, while Manuel Lanzini has already been selected in the provisional Argentina squad.
The remainder of the West Ham squad will be handed a rest following the trip to Old Trafford on Saturday, with the Hammers having a 13-day break between the Premier League match against Manchester United and the FA Cup fourth round tie with Kidderminster Harriers.
"I’ll give them some time off. If any group of players deserve time off it’s our boys," Moyes told football.london. "[With] the European fixtures, they had a good run in the Carabao Cup and the games they’ve had to play and they deserve it."
Moyes added: "Hopefully those players who are called away on international duty will come back fit and well because they’ve got to go and play another two or three games wherever the games are. But hopefully, the other players will get a break and some recovery time."
If selected, Antonio faces a hectic end to January, with Jamaica facing three matches in the space of seven days between January 27 and February 2.
With West Ham facing an FA Cup tie against National League North side Kidderminster on February 5, Antonio is likely to be handed the weekend off to recover from his international exertions and prepare for the return of the Premier League action on February 8.
Lanzini will find out later this week if he has made the final Argentina squad for the first time since 2019 following his return to form in the West Ham starting XI.
If selected, Lanzini will head to South America immediately following the trip to Old Trafford for two CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers on January 27 and February 1.
