Of the eight FA Cup 5th round ties, only three feature an all-top flight matchup. The final round of 16 tie, which is being staged on Monday night, fits this bill. West Ham United hosts Brentford in a London derby where a quarterfinal berth is at stake. Brentford boss Keith Andrews met the media today, providing updates on the injuries to Rico Henry, Reiss Nelson and Antoni Milambo.
We have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s jump right in, starting with Henry, who was forced off during the first half of the goalless draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
FA Cup Round of 16 FYIs
West Ham United vs Brentford FC
Kickoff: Monday March 9, 8:30, London Stadium
Brentford Team News
“Rico did his hamstring,” Andrews said in his pre-match presser ealier today. “Everyone could see he was in quite a bit of distress with that when he had to come off.
“Rico won’t be available (Monday night), and he’ll probably be out for a decent period of time, unfortunately. He worked really hard to get back to the point where his performances were at a really high level, so that’s really unfortunate with him.
“We will get him back as soon as we can and as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
Moving on to Nelson and his calf injury, he faces a late fitness test in order to make the squad here.
“Reiss will hopefully be involved, but we’re not entirely sure yet,” Andrews said.
Meanwhile Milambo obviously remains out for the season, due to his ACL injury, but we did get an update on his process of recovery today. The midfielder underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery on Tuesday. And he’ll now begin his rehabilitation at the club.
Fábio Carvalho also remains out for the season while Aaron Hickey (hamstring) should be back sometime after the international break. Elsewhere Vitaly Janelt (metatarsal) and Josh Dasilva (knee ligament) are both looking at late season returns from injury.
West Ham Team News
Hammers boss Nuno Espirto Santo met the media today as well, and he provided an update on Pablo and his calf injury. “Assessing day-by-day, he is improving a lot. Let’s see how he goes,” said Santo.
Most likely, the striker won’t be risked in this one. Otherwise the Irons availability situation remains the same- Lukasz Fabianski remains sidelined with a lower back injury while Freddie Potts is suspended.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.