West Ham United forward Marko Arnautovic was not fit enough to start last night, with Manuel Pellegrini’s side going out of the League Cup.
West Ham were beaten 3-1 at the London Stadium by Spurs yesterday, with Javier Hernandez selected to lead the line.
Hernandez put in a poor display, with Arnautovic’s absence definitely felt during the contest.
But Pellegrini insists that West Ham never had an option to start Arnautovic, as he is still having some issues with his knee.
“Marko just worked one day during the week so it was too risky to play more than 30 minutes,” Pellegrini said. “He has no problem but he always has some sort of disturbance with his knee but it is not an injury.”
Arnautovic could have aided West Ham’s chances of progressing against Spurs, but they still should have performed better without him.
Tottenham named a heavily rotated side for the contest, but still ran out as winners at the London Stadium.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side scored their goals through Heung Min-Son and Fernando Llorente, and even though Lucas Perez did hit the net for Pellegrini’s side it was nothing more than a consolation.
West Ham have now failed to win any of their last four matches, with the pressure on them to beat Burnley at the weekend.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
