West Ham medics believe Diafra Sakho could be out of action for between two and five weeks after injuring his back against West Bromwich Albion yesterday.
And that could see him miss the African Cup of Nations tournament for his international team Senegal which kicks off in Equatorial Guinea on January 17.
Although the player faces a scan, the early signs are not good although the Hammers are bracing themselves for the player to be checked by Senegal international bosses.
A Hammers source said today: “That would involve Diafra in travelling to Dakar. They may want to check that it is a genuine injury, It is!
“Because of the damage done to his back on the last international outing when receiving treatment, this is now a recurring injury.
“An early check on the problem by our medics shows the situation maybe as it was before – a two to five week lay off.
“However, Diafra is a quick healer so hopefully he could be back sooner rather than later and has the two weeks to make the competition. He can be called up right up to the 16th. The scan will obviously tell us a lot more so fingers crossed”
Sakho came off midway through the second half holding his back after being involved in a goalmouth scramble from which he attempted to score whilst in a sitting position’
I hope we don’t take any chances and if he isn’t 100% fit for the 16th keep him in London there not going to win the African Cup any way and we are his future, if they want to give him a medical give there medical team the money for air fare and let them come here.he needs to be looked after by people who care.
There is no way he should be undertaking a long flight with a back injury as it could make it worse. The Senegal medics should visit him in London if they insist on assuming our own medics are lying about his condition.