Hammers and England striker Dean Ashton continues to struggle with a knee ligament injury he picked up whilst playing against Aston Villa. The West Ham player is now rated as extremely doubtful to be available for England’s Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia.

Ashton picked up the injury during play but continued as West Ham had already used all substitutions in the game. His worst fears were confirmed after the game. Ashton’s international career has been hampered by injury in the past. 14 months ago the young player suffered a broken ankle whilst training for the national side as they looked to take on Greece in Steve McClaren’s first game in charge.

West Ham manager Alan Curbishley said: "Dean has hurt his medial knee ligament. You could see he was labouring and couldn't really run about.

"I would think he is very doubtful for England. He couldn't really run near the end so I imagine that is it for him. He swung his leg to clear the ball and has caught his boot on somebody and tweaked his medial knee ligament. It's a big blow for England but it's also a big blow for us as we have injuries aplenty up front. It all depends how badly he has hurt his ligaments. We will have to wait and see but I would say things are looking a bit tight for the next two weeks.You feel sorry for the lad because he has had his fair share of bad luck and has worked ever so hard to get himself back fit and playing."