Ashton suffered a broken ankle while on England duty in August 2006, which meant that he was forced eventually to miss the whole of the 2006–07 season. In his absence, West Ham were fighting relegation for virtually the whole season, which led to speculation that Ashton would leave if the club was relegated. Eggert Magnússon, the club's chairman, stated in March 2007 that Ashton would not be allowed to leave until the following January at the earliest if the club were to go down. In the event, the club avoided relegation on the final day of the 2006–07 season.