Two key starters absent from West Ham training as academy trio feature ahead of Larnaca

West Ham United are gearing up for their Europa Conference League round of 16 second leg match against AEK Larnaca, with the team currently holding a 2-0 lead going into the Thursday clash. A win over two legs would secure the Hammers a spot in the last eight of the competition, which would mark their second consecutive European quarter-final appearance.

In preparation for the game, West Ham held an open section of their pre-match training session, which was attended by football.london to observe the players in attendance. A total of 24 players participated in the open section, including 21 senior players and three academy players.

Lukasz Fabianski participated in the training session, despite having undergone eye surgery earlier this month. However, as he was seen wearing a protective mask, it seems unlikely that he will be included in the squad for the second leg. In his absence, Alphonse Areola and Jospeh Anang were seen training, as well as academy goalkeeper Krisztian Hegyi, who received his first call-up to Hungary’s senior squad on Tuesday.

All but one of the senior defenders were present in the training session, with Vladimir Coufal being the only absentee due to a heel injury. Levi Laing, an academy centre-back, was seen training with the senior team.

The entire midfield roster, including under-21s player Freddie Potts, who previously appeared in this competition against Romanian side FCSB, participated in the training.

Striker Michail Antonio was absent from the training session due to a recent calf issue, which also ruled him out of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa. However, Danny Ings and Gianluca Scamacca were both present.