There were a few notable absentees from the West Ham United squad against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday as the Hammers secured a 1-1 draw on the south coast.
From the team which started the previous weekend's 5-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City, manager Manuel Pellegrini opted make five changes.
That included Aaron Cresswell, Fabian Balbuena, Michail Antonio, Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller dropping out.
But while the latter pair don't feature at the Amex Stadium because of injury, football.london understands that Cresswell exclusion was not fitness related and he's just been dropped.
In his place at left-back came Arthur Masuaku with Cresswell making way from the 18 entirely as Pellegrini swung the axe in the aftermath of the drubbing at London Stadium the previous Saturday.
There were varying opinions on how the DR Congo defender got on against Brighton. The stats showed he completed five tackles made two interceptions and one clearance (which led to the Hammers taking the lead through Javier Hernandez) but there were also still a couple of hairy moments defensively for the left back.
Cresswell started and captained the side in the place of Mark Noble against City, but Pellegrini's strong decision meant Masuaku - who signed a contract extension in the summer - has the chance to nail down a place in the side.
In terms of Anderson and Haller, the Hammers are hopeful that both will be fit to re-take their places in the starting lineup when West Ham make the short trip to Watford on Saturday.
The Hornets haven't won in their last five outings across across the last two Premier League campaigns, including a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of the Hammers on the final day of last season.
