West Ham United's 2-1 win over Anderlecht on Thursday evening was overshadowed slightly by the injury suffered by Angelo Ogbonna which forced the Italian off in the 22nd minute.

Ogbonna missed the majority of last season due to a cruciate ligament injury and only returned to action this season, featuring in all but one of West Ham's European games this season.

These games represent an opportunity for the Italian to re-build his match fitness ahead of a probable return to Premier League action but he now sadly looks set for another spell on the sidelines after he was forced off with a knee issue against Anderlecht, which fans will be hoping isn't a repeat of last season's troubles.

Since signing from Juventus in 2015, Ogbonna has gone on to make 209 appearances for the Hammers, in which he has contributed 13 goals and one assist.

The 34-year-old has been a mainstay for David Moyes in the Premier League in recent seasons but another knee injury at his age could well be the beginning of the end for Ogbonna, especially with the summer additions of Nayef Aguerd and Thilo Kehrer potentially pushing him down the pecking order at the London Stadium.

To make matters worse for Moyes, Ogbonna's replacement Craig Dawson was also forced off against the Belgian side on Thursday night, which could leave the Scottish manager well short at centre-back.

After Ogbonna's injury last season, which came in an impressive 3-2 win over Liverpool, talkSPORT pundit Darren Gough was full of praise for the Italian defender, saying:

“He has been outstanding. He is a threat on both ends of the pitch. He has been a consistent pick for Moyes."

Ahead of the game against Anderlecht, Moyes discussed Ogbonna's absence last season and emphasised how important the Italian is in his squad.

He said: "Angelo was in great form playing alongside Kurt, and probably if we’re honest, we were maybe in our best form in that period.

"It was maybe once we lost Angelo that it started to dip a little bit in certain ways. He gave us left-sided balance at the time and it just didn’t feel quite as good after."

Therefore, the Scottish manager will surely be gutted that Ogbonna was forced off again on Thursday and will be hoping that it was just a minor knock rather than a repeat of last season's troubles, as that would surely be career-threatening for the 34-year-old.