Jarrod Bowen injury blow confirmed as West Ham star misses Bayer Leverkusen clash

West Ham have been hit with a significant setback as their leading scorer Jarrod Bowen is ruled out of the upcoming Europa League quarter-final clash with Bayer Leverkusen due to a knee injury sustained in the recent 2-1 victory over Wolves.

The 19-goal striker will not be part of the squad for the first leg in Germany, and his absence is likely to extend to the return fixture at the London Stadium.

Hammers' manager David Moyes delivered the unfortunate update in his pre-match briefing, stating: «Jarrod isn't with us, he's twisted his knee and there's some sort of damage.

»We can't give any dates of when he might be back, unfortunately.

«He's an England international and we know how important he is to our team, so he'll be a miss for sure. But we have good players who can come in, so we'll stay positive.»

Adding to West Ham's challenges, they will also be without influential midfielder Edson Alvarez due to suspension for Thursday's match, while both Kalvin Phillips and Alphonse Areola are sidelined with injuries.

Despite facing a formidable opponent in Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen, who boast an impressive unbeaten streak this season and are on the cusp of clinching the Bundesliga title, Moyes remains optimistic, remarking: «I see it as a great opportunity. We've had a good run in Europe and played a lot of good teams, and tomorrow we play another one.

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»Hopefully we can rise to the challenge and perform well. Both teams have 11 players, so it's an even game at the start.

«We know Leverkusen are a very good team, but we believe in our abilities.»

Captain Kurt Zouma spoke