Friday 21 August 2015 01:17, UK
Charlie Austin has hit back at a claim over his fitness by saying he couldn't have scored 18 Premier League goals last season if there was any doubt about the condition he is in.
The QPR striker responded after West Ham co-owner David Sullivan suggested moving for the England international was a risk because of his medical history.
Sullivan said on a Knees Up Mother Brown podcast: "He failed a medical at Hull a couple of years ago.
"They say he has no ligaments in his knee, who knows? To sign a player for £15m is a big risk. He could go on for years, but knowing our luck his knee will go in his first game and that's the end of it.
"If we had £100m to spend we may say: 'We'll spend £15m and gamble one-sixth of our budget.' But it's not one-sixth of our budget – it'd smash our budget to bits.
"And he didn't keep Queens Park Rangers up. If he'd kept them up single-handedly you might say it was different. A few of those goals were penalties.
"Sixteen goals is still very good, but when we played Queens Park Rangers last year they had to win to stand any chance of staying up and he wasn't very good."
Austin has reacted furiously to Sullivan's remarks, insisting the 66-year-old's words are inaccurate and defending his recent form. Sullivan later said his comments were taken out of context.
Posting on Twitter he said: "I feel I have no option but to address the inaccurate, misleading and uninformed innuendo about my physical condition that has been raised today by an individual who is not privy to my personal health history.
"It is one of a number of inaccurate reports about my so-called injury problems which have been made over the summer.
"For the record, there is nothing wrong with my 'ligaments', as has been suggested.
"My strength and performance in pre-season has been excellent and with two goals in my last two games, I don't think there is any doubt that my match sharpness is as good as ever.
"I scored 18 goals in the Premier League last season, which would not be possible were I feeling discomfort or pain.
"Like many professional footballers, I have the legacy of injuries picked up over my career but the effect on my day-to-day training and on match-day is non-existent.
"For a senior figure at a Premier League club to insinuate that I could break down at any moment is an outrageous slur on my professionalism and the work that has gone into making me the footballer I am today.
"I am fit, strong and looking forward to Saturday's home game against Rotherham."
QPR have said they will not accept anything less than £15m for Austin, who has been linked with several Premier League clubs.
The player has started the season well, scoring twice so far for the Loftus Road side against Cardiff City and Wolves.
