West Ham’s Carl Jenkinson could miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury, with the full-back set to return to his parent club Arsenal for his rehabilitation.
The on-loan defender clashed with Sergio Agüero in West Ham’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Saturday and was replaced by the new signing Sam Byram, who came on in the 13th minute for his debut, after signing from Leeds United for £3.7m.
Byram, who can play right-wing as well as right-back, is now set to play a key part for the London club in the final 15 matches of the season, with Jack Sullivan – son of club co-owner David Sullivan – saying on Twitter that Jenkinson’s injury was “far more serious than we thought and he is out for the rest of the season”.
“Unfortunately, it appears that Carl has suffered a significant injury and he will be assessed by a specialist in central London on Wednesday,” West Ham said in a statement on their website.
Carl Jenkinson’s injury is far more serious than we thought and he is out for the rest of the season.
— Jack Sullivan (@jsullivanwhu) January 26, 2016
The injury to Jenkinson may also affect the future of Mathieu Debuchy, with the Arsenal and France defender linked with a move away to either Aston Villa and Sunderland, as he seeks first-team football ahead of this summer’s Euro 2016 tournament. Arsène Wenger may now only allow Debuchy to depart on loan, rather than in a permanent deal.
