West Ham United have Andre Ayew available for selection again, now he has returned from the African Cup of Nations.
When speaking to reporters, Hammers boss Slaven Bilic explained why Andre Ayew was not in the match-day squad for his side’s game against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, citing mental exhaustion a the main contributing factor behind his omission, as quoted by the cub’s official website.
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The Croatian was forced to play Michail Antonio as an auxiliary centre-forward, after Andy Carroll was ruled out through injury, and with Ayew back in England, many fans questioned why he wasn’t included in the squad, at least as part of Bilic’s substitutes bench.
And the West Ham manager spoke to reporters in the aftermath of the game, explaining why the Ghanaian was not selection, highlighting emotional fatigue as the main reason why he was given some more rest time, as quoted by WHUFC.com:
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
“Andre Ayew came back on Friday. He had a long Africa Cup of Nations – they didn’t play more games than we played here so it’s not physical, but psychologically it means a lot to them and it drained him. They were there until the end – they played for third place – so we gave him a few days off and he came back on Friday. That’s why he was not in the squad on Saturday.”
West Ham United’s Andre Ayew in action
The 27-year-old forward moved to the London Stadium in the summer, for a fee believed to be in the region of £20.5 million, but has failed to establish himself as an important member of Bilic’s side, although he was forced to endure a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury.
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But with two weeks until the Hammers’ next game, Ayew has plenty of time to ensure he is ready to play when his side travel to Vicarage Road to take on Watford on February 25th.
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