Manuel Pellegrini hopes West Ham striker Lucas Perez can use his brace against Cardiff as a springboard for more goals in the coming weeks as the club sweat over the fitness of Marko Arnautovic.
Perez came on against Neil Warnock's side as a 40th-minute substitute for Arnautovic, who appeared to suffer a hamstring injury minutes after he had conceded a penalty, which Lukasz Fabianski saved.
And just four minutes into the second half, Perez opened the scoring for West Ham - which was his first Premier League goal in nearly two years.
Perez then scored his second goal of the night just five minutes later to inspire West Ham to a 3-1 win.
After the game, Pellegrini admitted Arnautovic had "probably" suffered a hamstring injury but expressed his hope that Perez - who arrived for £4m from Arsenal in August - will able to use the confidence from his two goals to help fill in up front.
Speaking to reporters, Pellegrini said of Perez: "It was very important firstly for the team [his goals], after that, for Lucas.
"He didn't start so often before this game but the important thing is he took this chance. Unfortunate for the injury for Marko Arnautovic but I hope he will continue like this."
When then asked whether Arnautovic had suffered a hamstring issue, Pellegrini replied: "Probably, it's a hamstring but we must monitor it."
