West Ham star removed from squad vs Sunderland with immediate replacement named. He’s not happy

Lucas Paqueta will not feature for West Ham against Sunderland on Saturday, Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo has revealed.

Paqueta had asked to sit out the FA Cup third round win over QPR earlier this month and missed the 2-1 win at rivals Tottenham on Saturday owing to a back issue.

And now Nuno has since confirmed that the Brazilian, who has been linked with a January move to Brasileirao side Flamengo, will miss the welcome of the Black Cats.

“The situation is the same as last week. We hope the club and Lucas can find a solution,” Nuno said when asked about Paqueta in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

“He won’t be in the squad for the game against Sunderland this weekend. We have to assess his injury day by day.”