Injury list looms over West Ham vs Portsmouth on Saturday

West Ham host Portsmouth on Saturday at 3pm in the first round of the EFL Cup, but both clubs will be without six key players due to injuries, including Tomas Soucek and Keibar Lamadrid for the Hammers and Franco Umeh, Harvey Blair and others for the Pompey.

The Hammers suffered relegation from the Premier League last season and, as a consequence, will be competing in the first round of the cup. Nuno Espírito Santo’s side will look to bounce back and earn automatic promotion back to the top flight.

Portsmouth, under John Mousinho, finished 18th in the 2025/26 campaign and are aiming to improve on that position as the Championship season approaches.

Tomas Soucek, the 31‑year‑old Czech international who featured at the World Cup, suffered an ankle ligament injury in the 3‑0 loss to Mexico and is expected to be sidelined for up to three months, keeping him out of the Portsmouth clash.

Keibar Lamadrid, the first permanent summer signing for West Ham, picked up a knee injury during pre‑season and is unlikely to debut against Portsmouth, with a recovery period of two to three weeks that may also rule him out of the opening league fixture.

Franco Umeh’s participation is in doubt after a hamstring injury sustained in a pre‑season friendly against Kuwait SC earlier this week, leaving him unavailable for the EFL Cup tie.

Harvey Blair is also a question mark following a hip issue that emerged during the club’s trip to Darmstadt, a problem that has plagued him in recent years and could keep him out of the season‑opener.

Josh Murphy missed the squad’s trip to Germany after a setback from groin surgery performed in April, meaning the winger will miss the opening weeks of the new season, including the cup match.

Keshi Anderson was ruled out for up to three months with a quad injury suffered in pre‑season, meaning he will not feature against West Ham and is unlikely to return before the September international break.

Action Images By  Declan Harte Published Aug 7, 2026, 7:40 AM GMT+1. Declan holds a Masters degree in Sports Journalism earned in 2020 from the National University of Ireland, Galway, where he is from. He joined Football League World in 2021 and has covered all things EFL since, after previously working on the Total Football podcast and now writing a weekly Formula 1 newsletter. Add Us Here Try Action.