Mohammed Kudus starts in attack for West Ham in their Europa League trip to Freiburg tonight in the absence of Michail Antonio.
Antonio has made a fine start to the season as the Hammers’ first-choice No9 following the departure of Gianluca Scamacca, but manager David Moyes revealed that the forward, along with full-backs Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell, has not travelled to Germany.
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“He had a tight adductor so we don’t want to take any risks with him,” Moyes said. “He wouldn’t have been available anyway, he wasn’t right.
“Cresswell’s still recovering from a hamstring and Ben Johnson’s got a bit of a tight groin as well so he’s not travelled either.”
While Antonio may well have been rested for the clash with the Bundesliga side, his fitness will be a concern ahead of Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Newcastle, with Moyes admitting he is not yet sure whether the Jamaican will be back for that game.
“No idea at the moment,” he said. “We’re going to try and get him through a few days training if possible or see how he is in his recovery. He was struggling on Saturday [against Sheffield United] with it as well.”
Jarrod Bowen will play through the centre of West Ham’s 4-3-3 system after earning his England recall, with Lucas Paqueta on the left flank.
Konstantinos Mavropanos, Lukasz Fabianski, Thilo Kehrer and Pablo Fornals complete the five changes made by Moyes.
West Ham XI: Fabianski; Kehrer, Mavropanos, Aguerd, Coufal; Ward-Prowse, Alvarez, Fornals; Kudus, Bowen, Paqueta
Subs: Areola, Anang, Zouma, Ings, Cornet, Ogbonna, Benrahma, Soucek, Coventry, Emerson, Mubama
Injuries: Antonio, Johnson, Cresswell
Time and date: 5.45pm, Thursday October 5
Venue: Europa-Park Stadion
