West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is waiting for injury news about a knee problem that could threaten his place in the Euro during the summer.
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The English midfielder will miss Monday night’s clash with Wolves, with a place among the top four offered to Hammers if they win, but there are fears that Rice’s knee injury could limit his season and hurt his Euro 2020 hopes.
Rice has taken his game to the next level in 2020/21 and has become an increasingly important player for England. His form is one of the main reasons why West Ham are vying for a possible Champions League place at this late stage of the campaign.
Rice has helped West Ham challenge for a Champions League place | Pool / Getty Images
But there now seems to be a nervous wait to determine the severity of a knee injury that the 22-year-old suffered during international service at England last week.
The Telegraph writes that Rice has been wearing a protective brace since meeting Poland in the last of England’s three internationals last month, with West Ham medical staff waiting for the swelling to subside and scan results to come through.
Rice hopes the problem will not end his season prematurely and it is said that there is a first fear that he could miss about four weeks while his knee recovers. That would at least mean a return to fitness before the end of the Premier League campaign, which could be crucial to West Ham’s European prospects. He would also be back more than a month before England’s first Euro 2020 game.
The worst case, however, is a lengthy dismissal and surgery, which ends Rice’s season immediately and almost certainly also kills his chances of being available for England this summer.
Rice is an important start for England but could miss Euro 2020 | Sebastian Frej / MB Media / Getty Images
However, he will not be on the pitch as West Ham look set to take advantage of Chelsea’s unexpected move on Saturday when they were beaten 5-2 at home by a struggling West Brom side.
The Hammers fell to seventh in the Premier League table at the weekend and fell to Liverpool and Tottenham, but three points against Wolves at Molineux on Monday night would make them skip both clubs and Chelsea in the top four.
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