New Irons striker worries

Carlton Cole may be back in action against Southampton this weekend after manager Sam Allardyce revealed that Diafra Sakho has suffered a back injury.

Cole may have expected his appearances to be few and far between with the arrival of the Frenchman and Enner Valencia but instead is becoming a regular.

Allardyce explained that Valencia had been forced to play 120 minutes against Sheffield United instead of the expected 60 because of the Sakho blow.

He said:  “Considering Enner’s not played a game since the World Cup, that was going to be his first 60 minutes or so  but Sakho tweaked his back so he’s had to play 120 minutes.”

Allardyce threw no further light on whether Sakho would be available for Saturday’s game raising predictions that Cole would perhaps again appear in the lone striker role.