WEST Ham's Mark Noble looks likely to miss out on the FA Youth Cup fifth round tie at home to Leyton Orient tonight after earning his place in Alan Pardew's first team.

The 17-year-old, who captained Tony Carr's academy squad to a 4-1 win over highly-rated Blackburn Rovers in the previous round, has since cemented himself in Pardew's plans with a string of impressive displays.

But his possible omission tonight will raise eyebrows, especially after he was released to play for England under-19s in a friendly in Belgium last week, during the build-up to Sunday's FA Cup replay loss at Sheffield United.

Youth team boss Tony Carr admits he is unsure exactly who will be available to him, but recognises the need to focus on the senior side.

"Obviously the bottom line is that the FA Youth Cup falls into insignificance when you are talking about youth team players featuring in the first team," he said.

"That is the ultimate test of what you have achieved throughout the season.

"It is not about how many cup games you win; it is about how many boys are playing in the first team."

Don't miss a full match report in Thursday night's Echo.