West Ham United will face Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium in the Premier League this weekend.
West Ham United co-chairman David Gold has stated on social networking site Twitter that Sead Haksabanovic will not feature for the team this weekend.
The Hammers will return to action on Saturday afternoon when they take on Southampton away from home at St. Mary’s Stadium in the Premier League.
The London club kicked off their 2017-18 Premier League campaign with a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United away from home at Old Trafford last weekend.
Slaven Bilic’s side will be determined to bounce back from that disappointing and heavy defeat at the hands of the Red Devils against the Saints in a few hours’ time.
One player who will not feature for West Ham against Southampton is Sead Haksabanovic.
The 18-year-old attacking midfielder joined the Hammers from Swedish club Halmstads BK on a five-year contract in the summer transfer window.
West Ham co-chairman Gold has stated on Twitter that the talented and promising teenage midfielder is not ready for the game against the Saints.
Meanwhile, West Ham striker Andy Carroll has returned to full training, but manager Bilic may not rush him into this afternoon’s match against Southampton.
“We don’t want to rush him into the game against Southampton,” Bilic told West Ham’s official website. “He has a great impact on the pitch but we don’t to put him in a situation where after a few days’ training, he plays for us.
“Maybe in that game he would be great, maybe he would score, but that kind of approach has caused new injuries for Andy in the past.
“So we don’t want to drag it too long, but he has to have at least kind of a short pre-season before he enters the pitch. Only then can he maintain his fitness.”
Bilic has also explained his decision to play 18-year-old defender Declan Rice against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League last weekend.
“Although it’s nice to have a situation (where a player comes through the Academy), we are never trying to force that,” Bilic told West Ham’s official website. “We didn’t go ‘Let’s put Declan in to gain something from the fans’.
“He’s a boy, a very mature and good player for his age. He thinks about the game and has the quality and has impressed everybody – the players, staff, West Ham family. In pre-season, he played every game. He was very important. He did very well in all our games.
“It’s still early for the kid, but is he improving and doing good? Yes, he is. OK, we’ve had some injuries in that area, but the reason he has played is because he was the best option and I was confident he can do it. He has done it already in the last couple of months.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
