David Ornstein has revealed that illness in West Ham camp had a bigger impact than the club is letting on.
Fans were quick to voice their concern when news broke that both Edson Alvarez and Emerson were kept out of the starting XI for their clash with Fulham. Our man in the know ExWHUEmployee exclusively revealed that a bug had been going around Rush Green, following the Hammers London Derby triumph against Tottenham Hotspur.
David Moyes would go on to confirm this and it was so severe that it saw Alvarez completely out of the squad, while Emerson was only able to come off the bench in West Ham’s 5-0 defeat to Fulham.
Now, journalist David Ornstein has revealed to The Athletic that the illness had a much more dramatic affect than was first thought. “Several players and staff members were hit with an illness that swept through the camp,” he stated.
“Pablo Fornals, who started the game, was one of those most affected by the sickness bug. Manager David Moyes was also left feeling unwell, along with other members of the first-team squad. This included Edson Alvarez and Emerson Palmieri, who were both missing from the starting line-up.”
Unsurprisingly, this may be one of the key reasons that the East London side were so off-the-ball at Craven Cottage. In fact, it makes a lot of sense. Fornals was clearly not himself, despite it being a rare opportunity for him to show his worth again, while David Moyes was uncharacteristically quiet on the touchline.
There is a real possibility that there were other players on the pitch that were feeling the effects of the sickness. This mixed with the short recovery time between games could be why West Ham found themselves on the wrong end of a demolition.
Whatever the reason, West Ham must put Sunday behind them and prepare for Thursday night’s group-decider against Freiburg. It’s a chance to get the fans back on side, but a defeat could be the final nail in the coffin for those becoming sick of David Moyes.