Joe Hart Seething With West Ham Boss After Lack of Game Time Ends in World Cup Omission
Joe Hart is reportedly incensed with West Ham manager David Moyes for omitting him in the club's final three games of the season, as his lack of playing time has resulted in his axe from England's World Cup squad.
The 31-year-old stopper, who has won 75 caps, was expected to head to Russia as England's no.3, but a phone call from Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate has all but ended his international career on the eve of the 23-man squad announcement on Wednesday afternoon.
The Manchester City loanee was handed just five league starts in the last six months of the season, and his lack of playing time has left Hart devastated as it is understood to have been a key reason behind Southgate's decision - as per the Daily Mail.
Hart has been England's first choice keeper in the last three tournaments, a position he held on to at the start of the qualification games. However, the emergence of youngsters Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland and Burnley's Nick Pope coincided with Hart's decline in performance levels and lack of game time.
Southgate called the 31-year-old on Monday to inform him he had not made the cut, news which Hart took gracefully as despite his obvious disappointment he is understood to have wished the Three Lions boss all the best for the tournament ahead.
Hart is now expected to return to City following a second successive season-long loan deal, first with Torino and then the Hammers, but with just a year remaining on his contract it is expected that his appearance at the Etihad will just be a pit-stop on the way to his next destination.
Meanwhile, Hart was not the only player exposed to Southgate's ruthless side as he is also expected to leave out Arsenal's Jack Wilshere all together, having failed to name him on the standby list.