The West Ham United striker suffered a back injury scare against Birmingham City today.
West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini addressed the media today, after his side progressed through to the fourth round of the FA Cup, and shared why Marko Arnautovic was angry when he was substituted in the 20th minute with a suspected back injury, as quoted by Football.London.
The Austrian is arguably the Hammers’ most important player, and Pellegrini’s side have really missed him when he has been out injured and unavailable for selection this season.
Arnautovic is somewhat of a cult figure amongst the West Ham fanbase, and they would have been bitterly disappointed to see him leave the field of play this afternoon.
Pellegrini allayed their fears, however, when speaking to reporters, insisting that he brought Arnie off purely as a precaution, despite the fact that the forward wanted to carry on, as quoted by Football.London:
“It is not important because we won the game. He felt some pain in his back at the beginning of the game, I thought it was better for him to come off. It was just a precaution. It was not good to take that risk. He was angry one minute. He wanted to carry on.”
Pellegrini will be desperate for Arnautoivc to be back fit in time for next weekend’s Premier League clash with Arsenal, and if he is available for selection, the Chilean’s decision today will be well and truly vindicated.
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