West Ham 0 Leicester 2: David Moyes under huge pressure amid calls for him to be sacked as Maddison goes off injured
JAMES MADDISON has given England a huge World Cup injury scare after limping off in the first half of Leicester’s win at West Ham.
The Foxes playmaker was on cloud nine before kick-off having been named in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad to head to Qatar on Thursday.
He celebrated the news in the best possible way, grabbing the opener at the London Stadium after just eight minutes before Harvey Barnes grabbed a second late on.
Maddison, 25, pulled up and went down in the 22nd minute, receiving treatment on his right leg on the pitch before hobbling off to be subbed in the 25th minute.
Boss Brendan Rodgers gave his star man a comforting tap on the back, while the away support chanted: “England’s No.10”.
But Maddison, with his right sock rolled halfway down, trundled straight down the tunnel, showing his frustration by lobbing some tape onto the floor.
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He appeared back on the bench for the second half, and looked in good spirits, laughing and joking with the backroom staff.
Yet he will still need to prove his fitness to Southgate, with the Three Lions set to meet up as a squad on Monday before flying out to Qatar, with the opening group game against Iran on November 21.
This comes at the worst possible time for Maddison, who is one of the most in-form English players right now, his strike today making it 18 goals and 10 assists in 2022.
He has now either scored or assisted in five of Leicester’s last eight games, winning all but one of those.
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His first-time effort to beat Lukasz Fabianski from six-yards started with Maddison’s neat flick in the middle of the pitch before Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s low cross into the box.
Patson Daka scuffed his own attempt, which luckily ran all the way to Maddison at the back post as he rifled the ball into the roof of the net.
Wearing orange boots alongside a ghastly gold Leicester away kit, Maddison really was the stand-out in all senses, celebrating his seventh Premier League goal of the campaign with a knee-slide.
Before Maddison’s untimely exit, West Ham were handed an injury scare of their own.
Defender Kurt Zouma had left the warm-up early pre-match, and obviously had not recovered as he went down in the 14th minute, giving Nayef Aguerd his first Prem appearance.
Luckily for France, national team boss Didier Deschamps had decided earlier in the week not to include Zouma in his own squad.
Leicester were on top, yet the loss of their creative spark handed the Hammers the initiative as Lucas Paqueta and Said Benrahma missed several good chances to level the scores.
Tomas Soucek had the ball in the net in the 35th minute only for a late offside flag to be raised for Jarrod Bowen earlier in the phase of play.
Things almost got worse for the hosts as VAR asked referee Jarred Gillett to go to the monitor to look at Craig Dawson’s reckless challenge on Daka in the box.
Replays showed Dawson had clearly connected with Daka’s ankle and Youri Tielemans stepped up to take the penalty in Maddison’s absence, only for Fabianski to save to his right.
After back-up keeper Alphonse Areola – who is going to Qatar with France – failed to save 10 straight penalties in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup third defeat to Blackburn, Fabianski proved his worth in that department.
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez would not have been filled with joy watching Tielemans fail from the spot, but perhaps fearing another injury, Rodgers took him off on 55 minutes.
West Ham continued to dominate proceedings without seriously challenging Danny Ward in the Leicester goal, to the annoyance of the east London faithful.
The introduction of Jamie Vardy for Daka produced more of an attacking threat for the visitors, with the 35-year-old testing Fabianski almost instantly.
West Ham could not bring on a goal-getter from the bench, with Michail Antonio missing from the squad, and were eventually punished on the counter in the 78th minute thanks to a cool Barnes finish.
Moyes is in little danger of getting the sack after a poor start to the season, but these are worrying times.
His side are currently just a point off the drop heading into the break.
It is now one league win in their last six, and two home losses on the trot.
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As for Rodgers’ Leicester, the revival is well and truly up and running. Four wins in their last five and two points from the top half of the table.
But Southgate’s biggest concern will be Maddison, holding his breath and praying that this was a lucky escape rather than a tournament-ending injury.
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