Konstantinos Mavropanos is “currently nursing a minor injury” and won’t make his West Ham debut against Brighton this weekend, according to the Evening Standard.
The newspaper reported on their website Wednesday (23 August) that the Greek international “will not be ready” for the clash on Saturday after becoming the third signing of the window at the London Stadium.
The club confirmed the £20million arrival on Tuesday after a deal with Stuttgart, but he won’t face the Seagulls at the Amex.
Nayef Aguerd is suspended for the Brighton game after being sent off in the 3-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday, so Angelo Ogbonna looks set to replace him in the line up with Mavropanos unavailable.
Typical
The former Arsenal man should fit in at West Ham perfectly if he is already unavailable, since one of the primary reasons David Moyes wanted another centre-back was repeated injuries at the position.
With Aguerd out for the next game it would have been perfect timing for Mavropanos to slot right in, if the manager was confident he didn’t need time to get up to speed, but apparently that won’t be an option.
Despite a tumultuous summer that has seen Declan Rice leave along with Gianluca Scamacca and Manuel Lanzini, and clashes behind the scenes delay incoming transfer business, the season has got off to a reasonable start.
The win over Chelsea makes it four points from two, so maintaining momentum into the meeting with the current league-leaders is vital.
Moyes should at least still have both of his other summer signings in James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez available, which is arguably more important given the lack of alternative options in central midfield.
There doesn’t appear to be any indication that Mavropanos is set to miss further games, so while it will surely be a minor frustration to the manager to not have the cover he wanted since he immediately needs it in light of Aguerd’s sending off, neither the injury or the suspension are a prolonged situation.
