West Ham boss Sam Allardyce suffered another massive blow today with the shock news that Stewart Downing could be out until after Christmas.
The winger has a deep cut on his ankle which required 12 stitches after he came off at half time in the defeat at Liverpool.
He received the injury in a challenge from defender Jon Flanagan and at half time the severity of the injury was revealed. The cut was so deep that his Achilles tendon was exposed.
Ravel Morrison, suspended for the trip to Liverpool, is set to replace Nolan for next weekend’s match against Sunderland while Joe Cole is likely to come in for Downing.