Monday 7 December 2015 11:39, UK
West Ham say Diafra Sakho needs surgery on his thigh injury and will be out for around three months.
Sakho has a history of thigh problems and pulled up just after shooting on goal during the second half of last weekend's 1-1 draw.
Slaven Bilic this week estimated the forward's absence at "four to eight weeks", but that timescale has been revised following consultation with a specialist.
A statement on the West Ham website said Sakho "will undergo surgery on Saturday. The expected rehabilitation time from the operation is expected to be approximately three months".
The news deprives Bilic of another important attacking player in the wake of long-term injuries to Dimitri Payet and Enner Valencia.
An ankle injury will sideline Payet until February, at least, while knee and ankle damage has restricted Valencia to just two appearances this season.
Bilic said on Thursday he hoped to have Valencia fit later in December and challenged Andy Carroll to step up.
"Andy has lifted our game when he has come in for the last 20 or 30 minutes and now he needs to show that from the start," he said.
"He showed his class, and so far he has showed it more as an impact player when he has come on. He has got the quality, sometimes the players need a longer time to gel in completely and play like they did before the injury. We hope he's going to do that now for us."
