West Ham confirmed on Wednesday that Andy Carroll will be out for a minimum of six weeks with a badly damaged hamstring.
On Monday it was revealed Carroll's injury was so severe that a scan had to be postponed, and he would be out of action for a lengthy period. The prognosis has now been confirmed by West Ham, who told ESPN: "Yes, sadly it is true."
Carroll might even be longer than six weeks, which means he will miss vital games for both club and country with England embarking on a series of World cup qualifiers.
The only bright spot is that the injury period will be covered by two, fortnight international breaks which means Carroll could only miss four Premier League matches.