David Moyes has confirmed that Aaron Cresswell is nearing a return to action after sustaining a rib fracture against Manchester City.

The left-back sustained the injury sliding to clear the ball in the snow against the Premier League champions and collided with the goalpost.

He has subsequently been out for seven consecutive league games and it is little surprise that has coincided with a dip in the Irons’ form.

Without Cresswell in the side, Moyes’ men have won just three of those games, but he has now confirmed that he is nearing a return, along with Kurt Zouma, who sustained his injury at a similar time.

Speaking to reporters, the Hammers boss said: “He’s getting close. He’s had a small fracture in a rib and it’s taken time to heal but he’s much closer. We hope he’s not too far away. It didn’t look an awful lot at the time.

“The week before that we lost Angelo. Then we lost Cressie and Kurt. We lost them all in three games on the bounce which has taken its toll on us a little bit. Angelo will probably be out until the start of next season but thankfully Kurt’s not too far away as well.”