West Ham star Lucas Paqueta looks visibly distraught as he is forced off against Chelsea after 13 minutes with injury
LUCAS PAQUETA looked distraught after he was forced off with a shoulder injury against Chelsea.
The West Ham midfielder has had a difficult debut season in the Premier League and his bad luck continued against the Blues.
Paqueta initially went down under a challenge from Chelsea newboy Noni Madueke.
He received treatment for several minutes before continuing, though Tomas Soucek was sent to warm up.
And the Czech was needed moments later as Paqueta pulled out of a tackle with Mykhailo Mudryk and signalled he needed to come off.
He lasted just 13 minutes and, shortly after, West Ham were dealt a further blow as Joao Felix opened the scoring.
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It is the second time Paqueta has suffered a shoulder injury this season having also been forced off against Southampton in October.
Manager David Moyes described that injury as "serious" though the Brazilian only missed three league games.
It is a blow for Paqueta and West Ham as the £51million summer signing was just starting to hit form.
He impressed in his last outing against Newcastle last week and scored an equaliser in the 1-1 draw.
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West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca hailed his team-mate as brilliant and praised the connection they have on the pitch.
He said: "Lucas Paqueta and I have a good connection.
"It’s one we also have with Bowen, Rice, and everyone in the team all together.
"Lucas is a brilliant player and it’s a pleasure to play with him."