New West Ham United manager Gianfranco Zola may have only been in the job a week, but he has learnt that top striker Dean Ashton is likely to be unavailable for over a month. The 24 year old picked up an injury to his knee in training and after tests from club doctores, the bad news has now been revealed.

Ashton said “I sprained my ankle in training …and I'm looking at spending the next three to four weeks on the sidelines…I just went over on it. It happens to a lot of players...It's not too serious.”

Ashton has suffered a series of unfortunate injuries over the last few years. Notably the player suffered a broken ankle on the eve of his England debut in August 2006 and then missed the whole of the season.

The player signed for West Ham from Norwich City in January 2006. He has played 46 times and scored 15 goals for the club.