Robert Snodgrass played just over half an hour as West Ham United were defeated by Bournemouth.
West Ham United’s Robert Snodgrass and Sam Byram celebrate after Andre Ayew scores their second goal
Robert Snodgrass has confirmed that he had to play through the pain barrier in West Ham’s defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday after he suffered an injury almost immediately after coming on, the Mirror reports.
Snodgrass was left on the bench by Slaven Bilic for the clash at the Vitality Stadium, but came on shortly before the hour-mark as the Hammers chased an equaliser having fallen 2-1 behind 10 minutes previously.
Unfortunately for the January signing, he had a problem virtually as soon as he came onto the pitch, and he explained that looking back at what was still available on the bench motivated him to carry on.
“I twisted my ankle and stretched my ligaments but we only had defenders and a centre midfielder on the bench so you have to try to push through that pain barrier for your teammates. But I couldn’t really push off with any force,” he said, as reported by the Mirror.
“I thought it had paid off but then it’s bitterly disappointing when you concede after getting yourself back in the game.”
West Ham United’s Andy Carroll looks dejected after the game
As Snodgrass alluded to, the Irons managed to get themselves back on level terms in the final 10 minutes as fellow substitute Andre Ayew bagged an equaliser. But it was not to be, as Josh King completed his hat-trick in the dying moments to give the Cherries the three points.
While the Scotsman’s attitude was admirable and may win favour with some of the supporters who appreciate his desire to carry on playing after the saga surrounding Dimitri Payet earlier in the campaign, some may question whether he did make the right decision.
Though Bilic had no attacking options left available to him, some fans may deem that putting a fully fit player on instead of an injured Snodgrass – who is yet to really prove himself at the London Stadium – may have given them a greater chance of earning a share of the points, even if it had been a less attacking-minded option, as it may have given the other attacking players less defensive work to do.
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