• West Ham were hit by sickness before being thumped 5-0 by rivals Fulham  
  • ‘Several players and staff’ were affected, including David Moyes and one starter 
  •  IAN LADYMAN reveals the GREATEST weapon a manager has against a journalist – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off

West Ham were hit by a sickness bug that had swept through the squad ahead of their 5-0 mauling by Fulham this weekend – with ‘several players and staff’ said to be affected.

The Hammers were stunned by their London rivals at Craven Cottage with five different scorers from the Cottagers as Raul Jimenez, Willian, Tosin Adarabioyo, Harry Wilson and Carlos Vinicius all getting in on the rout. 

It was a shock result that followed an impressive run of three wins in four for the Hammers – including a notable 2-1 victory at Tottenham in the previous game.

The Athletic have now reported that a number of players and staff members were hit by illness in the build-up to the game.

The report claims that even Moyes himself was left feeling unwell.

West Ham were reportedly hit by a sickness bug ahead of their 5-0 hammering by Fulham

West Ham were reportedly hit by a sickness bug ahead of their 5-0 hammering by Fulham

Manager David Moyes was said to be feeling unwell as the illness swept through the squad

Manager David Moyes was said to be feeling unwell as the illness swept through the squad

One player who started the game – Pablo Fornals – was said to have been one of the worst affected.

Other stars who were struck down by the bug include midfielder Edson Alvarez and Emerson Palmieri – with the former absent from the squad entirely while the latter was named on the bench and came on as a sub. 

Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola was also absent but it is reported that he was suffering with a wrist injury rather than illness.

After the game, Moyes spoke about the illness affecting his players – without specifying how many were affected – admitting it ‘hadn’t helped’, as he also blamed fatigue after a quick turnaround from their win at Spurs on Thursday.

Pablo Fornals - who started the game - was reported to be one of the stars struggling most

Pablo Fornals – who started the game – was reported to be one of the stars struggling most

‘I’m embarrassed for the result and the performance, and we’re sorry to the supporters for it,’ he said.

‘There were a wee bit of mitigating circumstances – I think the midweek took a huge amount out of us. 

‘Playing Thursday and Sunday in two Premier League games, compared to [Fulham playing on] Wednesday and Sunday makes a big, big difference.

‘We’ve had quite a bit of illness in the camp over the last few days and that’s not helped. 

‘Even mentally, what it took out of us to get a result at Tottenham, I just felt today Edson pulled out because of illness, we had Pablo and Emerson who were both ill yesterday and we weren’t sure how they would be.’ 

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‘We’ve had quite a bit of illness in the camp over the last few days and that’s not helped.’

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Post source: Daily mail

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