Julen Lopetegui leaves Anfield on crutches after injuring his calf in frustration during West Ham’s dismal 5-1 defeat against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup
- West Ham manager injured himself during Liverpool’s 5-1 cup win
- Julen Lopetegui needed crutches after injuring himself at Anfield
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West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui was forced to use crutches after injuring himself in the dugout during Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup match against Liverpool.
The Hammers manager suffered his heaviest defeat since taking over the job in pre-season, with Arne Slot’s Liverpool dominating the match at Anfield, winning 5-1 to eliminate West Ham from the competition.
Lopetegui was already feeling emotionally bruised when Liverpool led 3-1 after Diogo Jota scored twice and Mohamed Salah scored the third, injuring himself when his players wasted a chance to score.
Summer signing Crysencio Summerville missed a chance in front of goal with West Ham trailing by two points, with Lopetegui reacting by jumping in frustration at the wasted effort.
The 58-year-old player suffered a calf injury when he landed in the dugout and later limped to the post-match press conference after receiving treatment in the closing stages of the game.
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui had to use crutches after injuring himself in the dugout against Liverpool
The 58-year-old confirmed he injured himself as he limped to his post-match press conference at Anfield
West Ham have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup after a disappointing 5-1 defeat to the Reds
Mail Sport later learned that Lopetegui’s injury left him needing crutches after the match.
Lopetegui spent the rest of the match in the technical zone after injuring himself. He later confirmed during the emotional display in the technical zone that he had injured his leg.
“I have a little injury on my calf,” he admitted after limping into the room for his post-match press conference.
‘I don’t think we deserve this score. I think in the game, in many moments, we were even better than them.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot (centre) saw his team secure a dominant victory in the League Cup
‘I’d rather not talk about the referee. It’s very clear to me that the decisions were against us and the key decisions.
‘But in the end, when we had chances to score, we didn’t. To win these kinds of games, you have to stay close.
“After the third goal and the red card it became much more difficult. The last part of the game was very bad for us,” he added.
The Hammers manager hopes he has made a full recovery so he can be back on the sidelines for this weekend’s Premier League clash against Brentford.