Leeds United relegation boost as West Ham boss reveals potential injury nightmare
Leeds United’s key relegation rivals have a fresh injury concern with nine Premier League games remaining.
West Ham United have been left sweating on the fitness of star man Crysencio Summerville ahead of a huge relegation run-in alongside Leeds United.
The Hammers have now been confirmed as Leeds’ FA Cup quarter-final opponents following Monday’s penalty-shootout win at home to Brentford. The Premier League pair drew 2-2 after extra-time before a 5-3 victory from the spot.
Summerville was initially rested before being introduced at half-time in normal time, with the winger going on to suffer a painful-looking knock during the second half. The former Leeds man continued to play but did not take any of West Ham’s five penalties.
"Let's assess him. He felt a knock,” Espirito Santo told the BBC. “I don't know exactly what he has. It is concerning but hopefully we recover with this moment of joy. We'll get better, we'll be faster and we will be able to compete against City.
"Enjoy for a couple of hours and then refocus, recover well and respect your body. It was a big effort from a lot of the players. Then we have to go again."
The initial decision to rest Summerville was unsurprising, given his incredible recent form. The Dutch winger has scored seven goals in his last 11 appearances across all competitions, a run that has coincided with West Ham starting to pick up points in the relegation scrap.
The Hammers host Manchester City at the London Stadium this weekend and a decision is expected to be taken on Summerville after further assessment. Espirito Santo hopes there is no serious injury to overshadow an otherwise positive night for his side.
West Ham boss on FA Cup momentum ahead of Leeds United meeting
Like Leeds, Premier League survival is the priority for West Ham and despite losing just two of their last eight games, they remain in the bottom three on goal difference. Some might see the FA Cup as a potential distraction and something that increased the risk of injury but Espirito Santo was happy to keep momentum building.
"I believe the FA Cup helps in terms of motivation, in terms of everybody being switched on, knowing that they are going to have the chance to play,” the Hammers boss added. “During the week many of the players work very hard and then we cannot reward them in the game and sometimes it is unfair.
“Having the FA Cup alongside the situation in the league will help the squad work even more and compete even more, we need all the players. Like I said, it keeps everybody alive, not dreaming but believing that it is possible to achieve something great brings the best out of them."
Leeds will now play West Ham on the weekend of April 4/5 with an FA Cup semi-final trip to Wembley up for grabs. That is the first of two meetings between the Premier League strugglers, with the latter coming on the final day of the league season in what could be a relegation decider.
Daniel Farke’s side will hope to have pulled clear by then, with the current three-point gap plus significantly superior goal difference either maintained or increased. Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur are also right in the mix between 18th-placed West Ham and Leeds in 15th.