West Ham United's Kurt Zouma has dropped out of the starting lineup to face Leicester City due to illness and has been replaced by Issa Diop for their clash at the King Power Stadium.
Zouma was initially selected to play at centre-back alongside Craig Dawson; however, the Hammers have revealed that the 27-year-old feels "unwell" and he has been replaced by Diop, with goalkeeper Darren Randolph added to the substitutes' bench.
Issa Diop will replace Kurt Zouma in the starting XI, as he is unwell.
— West Ham United (@WestHam) February 13, 2022
Darren Randolph is added to the substitutes' bench.#LEIWHU https://t.co/zxKoSa5094
Zouma has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons over the last week, after disturbing footage emerged of him kicking and slapping his pet cat.
Despite an ongoing RSPCA investigation into Zouma's actions and widespread backlash from the public, David Moyes revealed before Sunday's game at Leicester that the centre-back would be available for selection.
However, the Scotsman is now having to cope without the Frenchman, with Diop and Dawson selected to play at the heart of the defence, joining Vladimir Coufal and Aaron Cresswell in the back four.
Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek have retained their places in centre-midfield, while Jarrod Bowen, Manuel Lanzini and Pablo Fornals will all provide support in attack for central striker Michail Antonio.
Oliver Thomas
