West Ham midfielder Manuel Lanzini will be out of actions for three to four weeks after picking up an injury while away on international duty with Argentina.
Lanzini played through the 0-0 draw against Aston Villa on Monday night with the problem but it has now ruled him out of the visit of Manchester United at London Stadium today (Sunday).
Football.London understands that the Hammers number ten has bone bruising in his foot and he could be out for up to a month in what is a big injury blow to manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Lanzini started the season in fine form and has been influential to West Ham's solid start to the 2019/20 campaign but he is now likely to miss the league games against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Everton and potentially Sheffield United, depending on how he recovers from injury.
Players likely to step up in Lanzini's absence are either Pablo Fornals or Jack Wilshere, who have both seen limited game time so far this season. Wilshere started the first two games of the season before he was dropped from the squad entirely, while Fornals is still adjusting to Premier League life following his £25m move from Villarreal in the summer.
Lanzini joins Michail Antonio on the sidelines. The Hammers winger has returned to training in the gym at Rush Green after undergoing hamstring surgery but he is not expected to be match fit much before the end of 2019.
Winston Reid meanwhile is still working his way back from two knee surgeries in the past 18 months but he could feature for West Ham's U23s side next week away at Cheltenham Town.
