West Ham talisman Michail Antonio to miss London derby against Crystal Palace

Michail Antonio is still working his way back from another hamstring injury
West Ham United FC via Getty Images
Jack Rosser @JackRosser_15 December 2020

David Moyes has ruled Michail Antonio out of Wednesday night's London derby against Crystal Palace.

The 30-year-old, who has been West Ham's talisman under Moyes, picked up his first hamstring problem before the November international break against Manchester City, before returning to action against Aston Villa at the end of the month.

However, he then sustained a separate hamstring injury that has kept him out ever since.

Antonio has returned to training but is still short of fitness ahead of tomorrow's game at the London Stadium.

"Michail is coming on, he is back on the grass," said Moyes. "I think the game tomorrow might come too early for him. He is coming on and we are getting him closer. We want to get him right, be correct with him. We are missing him and we know that."

Sebastien Haller has continued to struggle for goals in Antonio’s place, though injuries saw Said Benrahma given his first start in Friday's win against Leeds and Moyes has been impressed by the Algerian.

"He did some really good things at Leeds, he gave us a really positive result," said Moyes.

"He had to be patient because the team has been playing well. Let’s see how he goes, I still want to manage him correctly. I played him for 80 minutes the other night which was probably a bit more than I had intended to.

"At the time it was one each, [and he was] still able to create a goal. So I was thankful that we got the first goal that allowed me to free him up a little bit."

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