Enner Valencia has hit out at West Ham, claiming medical staff have denied him the chance to seek external advice and he has threatened to go abroad without the club’s permission in order to seek treatment for his long-term injury.
The 25-year-old forward was injured in West Ham’s Europa League qualifying draw with Astra Giurgiu in July and the club said Valencia, who was given oxygen on the pitch, had suffered what “appears to be a significant injury to his right knee and right ankle”.
Stijn Vandenbroucke,West Ham’s head of medical and sports science, confirmed Valencia could miss up to three months and, although the Ecuador international tweeted that he would not need surgery, Vandenbroucke later did not rule out the possibility.
“West Ham seem to have forgotten that I’m injured. But they don’t let me speak to another doctor. I don’t understand why West Ham doctors are doing this to me,” Valencia told Ecuador radio station La Deportiva, as reported by the London Evening Standard.
“The truth is that West Ham have not been supporting me. I have tried to ask an external doctor but the doctor of West Ham doesn’t want me to ask another doctor. It’s my health we are talking about here.
“I have been injured for a month and I still don’t know what the name of my injury is. I think I will have to ask a doctor to see me behind their backs. I have been thinking about going to an airport and getting out of London.”
Valencia later moved to smooth the waters on Wednesday with a statement on West Ham’s official website.
“I have had a number of consultation meetings with specialists in London, accompanied by members of the Club’s medical staff, and they have always kept me updated me on my injury,” he said.
“It has been a frustrating time, but I would like to make clear that I have the utmost respect and confidence in the club’s medical team and the specialists I was referred to and I would like to apologise to them and the club for any issues arising from the recent press coverage.
“I will continue to work as hard as I can with them to return to help the team as quickly as possible, and continue the good start I made to the season.
“It is not possible to put an exact date on when I might be back on the pitch,” Valencia added, “but you can be rest assured that I am motivated to get fit and score more goals for West Ham United as soon as I can.”
