Lucas Paqueta injury: West Ham star suffers horrible shoulder injury

Lucas Paqueta was finally starting to show why West Ham smashed their transfer record to sign him after a difficult start to life in England.

The Brazilian international was meant to be the man to raise the Hammers’ levels as they paid £51million plus add-ons for his services.

However, after scoring his first Premier League goal from open play against Newcastle in a 1-1 draw, the midfielder was withdrawn against Chelsea with what looked to be a shoulder injury.

After initially going down, the 25-year-old attempted to carry on before succumbing to the pain and being replaced by Tomas Soucek on 14 minutes.

And given Paqueta has already had a spell on the sidelines this season, Hammers fans around the world will hope he recovers quickly.

How many games is Paqueta expected to miss?

The Brazilian has yet to go for a scan to reveal the full extent of the damage. However, David Moyes indicated that Paqueta might have popped his shoulder – otherwise known as a dislocated shoulder.

The average recovery time to return to sports from a dislocated shoulder which requires surgery is between 6-12 weeks.

If the shoulder can be popped in without surgery, the injury can be healed in a few weeks.

Speaking after the game, Moyes said: “Losing Paqueta was a blow but we don’t know the answer yet.

“I don’t know, I haven’t asked the medical team, but obviously, it’s a shoulder injury.

“I don’t know if he’s popped his shoulder or if it’s just the way he feels, I’ve not got the answer to that yet.”

Meanwhile, West Ham captain Declan Rice said: “Lucas, I think his shoulder popped out, to be fair. So, he was in agony.”