‘LATE MIC LEFT US IN A JAM’

BY JAMES NURSEY DAVID MOYES hopes Michail Antonio is ready to take on Watford tomorrow despite arriving back late from international duty.

The West Ham striker (above) elected to represent Jamaica this season and played three games during the latest international break.

But he wasn’t back in time on Friday when the Hammers’ bus left for their FA Cup tie at Kidderminster. Antonio had to undertake training instead as Moyes’ men squeezed past the sixthtier Harriers.

Hammers boss Moyes said: “We left at 2pm Friday and Mic hadn’t turned up at the training ground yet, so we weren’t able to use him.

“He’s back, he got in late and trained Saturday as well, but we needed to try to get him back in.

“He’s been away a couple of times and I’ve had concerns about it because it’s new to him.

“It’s not something he’s been doing since he was 21 or 22.

“Obviously, they are long travels if you’re going to Jamaica. But I’ll never stop anybody if they want to play for their chosen country.”

In the absence of fifthplace West Ham signing a new striker in January, a lot rests on Antonio, who has nine goals this term.

He started all three of Jamaica’s recent World Cup qualifiers against Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica.

He scored in a 3-2 loss to Panama but the Reggae Boyz lost all three matches as their hopes of reaching Qatar 2022 suffered a crushing blow.

Antonio made his senior debut in a 3-0 loss at home to Panama earlier in the World Cup qualifying campaign in September 2021, before scoring on his second and third appearances with spectacular strikes.