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The new acquisition of the London club in the Premier League, defender Lucas Neill, suffered a shin injury in his debut FA Cup match against Watford on Saturday and will be out for about three weeks.
The captain of the Australian national team was injured in the FA Cup round of sixteen match against Watford, which ended in a 1-0 defeat for their team. The 28-year-old defender fell awkwardly and strained his shin muscles and had to leave the field after playing just 48 minutes.
An X-ray showed a minor shin injury for Neill, but he will still miss three matches in the English championship.
"His treatment is expected to take two or three weeks, but we hope Lucas will join the team as soon as possible," said team physiotherapist Steve Allen.
During the winter transfer window, Neill left Blackburn and rejected a £1.5 million offer from Liverpool to join West Ham.
He will definitely miss the country's league match against Liverpool on Tuesday and Saturday's away game against Aston Villa in Birmingham. However, he is expected to rejoin the team on February 10th, when West Ham will face Watford in the FA Cup.
West Ham fans also received sad news as it was revealed that striker Dean Ashton will return later than expected due to lingering pain from a shin injury suffered five months ago.
West Ham's head coach Alan Curbishley believes that Ashton will need five weeks of training to fully regain his form and return to the main squad.
The 23-year-old player visited a clinic to meet with a specialist to assess the condition of his injured shin.
"He found damaged tissue affecting Dean's shin, causing discomfort when running," Allen said. "He was given medication and will have four days to rest before his shin's condition is evaluated, as the player hopes to get permission to train at full force as soon as possible."
Despite Ashton's injury setback, coach Curbishley stated that he does not plan to try to acquire another forward like Darren Bent from the former London club Charlton.
"We have not made any offer to Darren," Curbishley stated. "Charlton has made it clear that the player is not for sale, so that's the end of the matter."
Currently, Alan Curbishley's West Ham team has 20 points after 24 rounds in the English Championship and is in 18th place.
