West Ham United's star striker Paolo di Canio could be out of action for several weeks after sustaining a bad knee injury in Monday's 1-0 league defeat to Southampton.
The Hammers' official website said the Italian faces "an extended lay-off" with newspaper reports suggesting he could be out for anything between six weeks and three months.
However, it appears the Upton Park talisman will definitely miss the away games at Middlesbrough on Saturday and Manchester United on December 14th.
Di Canio flew out to Italy yesterday to get a second opinion on whether he needs an operation.
"The doctor had said to me at half-time during the match against Southampton that it would be better if I opted out," he said.
"But I said I wanted to play on and give what I can to the team. The problem was I couldn't run, or challenge for the ball."
Under-fire manager Glenn Roeder admits di Canio's injury was another thing for the Premiership's bottom club and their fans to worry about.
He told the club's official website www.whufc.com: "There are not enough hours in the day.
"I don't think anyone on the staff had much sleep after the Southampton game - and I don't suppose our supporters did, either.
AFP