French midfielder Dimitri Payet has been an absolute revelation since arriving in the Premier League.
The West Ham playmaker has replicated his form for previous club Marseille, scoring five goals and picking up four assists as his new team have recorded some shock wins.
That sort of form has also endeared him to fantasy football managers, with more than a third of people including him in their squad for the Hammers’ draw against Everton.
But he left the field of play with an ankle injury early in the second half, and could now be out for as long as three months.
Payet left in crutches 😭 via @WestHamLondon pic.twitter.com/4VcRQy4kLf
— Jack Lebeau 🏴 (@JackLebeau66) November 7, 2015
West Ham fans are distraught by the news, which was compounded when Payet’s replacement Enner Valencia was carried off with an injury of his own.
But they’re used to their players suffering long-term absences.
Terrible news for West Ham that Payet out for three months. Made such an impact #WHUFC
— Lee Clayton (@LeeClayton_) November 9, 2015
https://twitter.com/JacobSteinberg/status/663761631990665217
While supporters of other clubs also felt the effect of one of the league’s newest talents.
https://twitter.com/_Zeets/status/663030503180668928
https://twitter.com/DezilDez/status/663762171910823936
The club will hope the three month estimate turns out to be wrong.
As for fantasy league managers? Perhaps they’ll look to James McCarthy, the man who crocked him, in the hope that he took on board some of Payet’s magic in the challenge.
