West Ham United boss David Moyes has confirmed that Michail Antonio, Thilo Kehrer and Maxwel Cornet will return to his squad for Thursday’s UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 first leg against AEK Larnaca.
The trio all missed Saturday’s Premier League defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, but will travel to Cyprus to boost the manager’s options as he seeks qualification for a second successive European quarter-final.
Antonio and Kehrer’s absences have only been in the short-term, but Cornet has not featured for the first team since October last year, with first a calf issue and then illness sidelining the Ivorian.
While Moyes said the winger is not yet ready for a start, he is delighted to welcome him back into the fold.
He said: “Micky Antonio is travelling with us. He felt a bit of a hamstring after the game at Old Trafford, but doesn’t seem too bad at the moment. Thilo Kehrer was sick, but he’s travelling with us as well.
“I’m bringing Maxi Cornet with me too. He played for the U21s the other night, but I’m generally thinking he’s not ready to play yet – I’m bringing him with me to be in the squad. Maybe he’s more likely to be ready after the international break.”
Moyes also provided an update on defensive pair Angelo Ogbonna and Vladimír Coufal, with the former set to fly to Cyprus, although the latter will miss out.
“Angelo Ogbonna picked up a little bit of a medial [knee] ligament injury in the game at Brighton and we took him off more as a precaution, but he’ll be okay and will be with us as well,” the manager confirmed.
“Vladimír Coufal is not with us because he has plantar fasciitis in his heel. Time will help it, but he’s not available for the game.”
