Lopetegui Spotted Using Crutches After Sideline Injury in Match Against Liverpool by Ansser Sadiq

The Hammers are struggling to find their rhythm at the beginning of the season, and their recent exit from the Carabao Cup has only added to their woes.

Lopetegui was seen hobbling on crutches on Thursday, after his team’s cup loss to Liverpool on Wednesday.

Speaking to the official club website on the game itself, Lopetegui commented: “I think we played one of our better matches, but you can’t say that when you look at the scoreline.

"We didn’t deserve to lose by this scoreline, as we had a lot of chances. We suffered one goal, which was offside, in the first half, and that’s the reason why I love VAR," a subtle dig at the referees, given video technology wasn't involved at this stage of the competition.

He continued: “In the second half, we could have had a penalty, and the next action they score the second goal.

"After this, we did very, very well and were still in the match until 70 minutes. We had many clear chances to level the match but didn’t score. When we went down to 10 players, it became a lot more difficult, but sometimes this can happen.”