LUCAS PAQUETA is the latest Premier League set to miss the World Cup.
West Ham boss David Moyes confirmed the Brazilian suffered a ‘serious’ shoulder injury in the weekend’s draw with Southampton.
Paqueta, 25, was ruled out of the Hammers’ Premier League clash with Liverpool on Wednesday.
And he looks set for an extended spell on the sidelines, which could rule him out of November’s tournament in Qatar.
Moyes told Amazon Prime: “He’s got an injury, and it’s quite serious at the moment.
“I’m not sure how exactly long it’s going to keep him out but obviously he’s been a huge player for us in recent weeks.
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“He was just beginning to come into form and give us a different type of dynamic really.
“We’re really disappointed to lose him.”
Paqueta had looked set to start for the five-time world champions in the Middle East this winter.
He played his way into Brazil’s starting XI under boss Tite with a string of impressive performances for Lyon last season – which then earned him a £51million club-record move to East London.
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The Samba Boys face Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon in at the World Cup with their opener just over a month away on November 24.
In his absence, fellow summer signing Flynn Downes has come into the team for his full Premier League debut.
But Moyes declared the 23-year-old as “certainly ready” to come into the team.
He said: “Well he’s certainly ready to do it.
“It’s now down to him to go and show it on one of the biggest stages.
“We like him a lot and we think he has a lot potential for the future as well.
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“(He has) Good legs, good energy so hopefully he can help us tonight.”
West Ham have endured a difficult start to the season and find themselves in the bottom half with just three wins from their first 10 league games.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
