Ryan Fredericks looked almost ill when he left the field during the 2-0 loss against Manchester City. A heavy collision with Rodri left him by far the worse off, as he was was forced off with a shoulder injury.

When they saw him trudging off the pitch with his arm supported by his shirt, many West Ham United fans probably felt pretty similar to how the departed full-back looked.

Pablo Zabaleta is a popular man, you could tell that by the reception he got when coming onto the pitch. It’s likely he’ll also go down as Premier League royalty, having played 303 games and won the title twice.

However, at 35 years old, the Argentinian is no longer the supreme right-back he was once was, and has had many struggles this season, most notably against Newcastle United’s Allan Saint-Maximin.

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The veteran was even taken out of the firing line against Liverpool, with 19-year-old Jeremy Ngakia replacing him to make his debut against the champions-elect.

Therefore, with West Ham’s next game coming against the same opposition, in an upcoming run of six tough fixtures, having a reliance on Zabaleta performing to help get out of the relegation zone is far from ideal.

It can be argued that the Argentinian now being the used option should lead to one criticism that has already come up far too often: West Ham’s lack of care in the transfer window.

This is not on par with the goalkeeping debacle, which led to Roberto calamitously filling the goal – as well as the January signing of Darren Randolph to fix the summer’s mistake – but it does highlight how West Ham have not learned their lesson from that episode.

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As has previously been mentioned, there have been signs that Zabaleta needs replacing. The Hammers were linked with three right-backs towards the January transfer window’s culmination: RB Salzburg’s Rasmus Kristensen and Toulouse’s Kelvin Amian were touted during the West Ham Way podcast 166, while Genk’s Joakim Maehle was on Twitter.

When FFC analysed the trio, it was made clear that there were some very useful options being included, but the eventuality was that none of them made the move to London Stadium.

Considering where West Ham currently find themselves in the Premier League table, this lack of care may prove to be costly.

Meanwhile, one player was praised by Roshane Thomas for their performance against Man City.