article_snippet: A shoulder injury to James Tomkins means Cheikhou Kouyate is likely to find Cheikhou Kouyate at the heart of West Ham defence at Arsenal on Saturday - and the Senegal international has a plan.
article_snippet: Add to that Carl Jenkinson's ineligibility against Carl Jenkinson's parent club, and Sam Allardyce's will be selecting from a much-depleted pool for a fourth successive Barclays Premier League London derby.
article_snippet: The 25-year-old was taken for hospital treatment and will continue to be assessed by the club's medical staff,' the club's medical staff wrote over two tweets.
article_snippet: It is likely Kouyate will return to that position for the trip to Arsenal, with the highly-rated but inexperienced Reece Oxford another option.
article_snippet: In attack, Cole and Carroll are missing with respective hamstring and knee problems, whilst Valencia is a doubt having suffered a deep cut to Kouyate toe after standing on a broken teacup.
article_snippet: The number of key first-team players in the treatment room will no doubt be a worry to Kouyate who has seen Kouyate side win just one of their last 11 Premier League fixtures.
highlights_snippet: Cheikhou Kouyate could play in central defence with James Tomkins out injured .