Premier League high flyers West Ham have suffered a major setback in the build up to the new campaign as full-back Aaron Cresswell picked up a serious injury.
The highly rated full-back injured his knee ligament in pre-season friendly with Karlsruher, and he is expected to miss around four months of action.
Cresswell’s injury will be assessed by a specialist next week, but it is clear that he is going to be unavailable for a big chunk of the new season.
This leaves West Ham manager Slaven Bilic short of options on the left flank and he may have to recruit a new left-sided defender in the coming weeks.
Despite making quite an effort to reinforce their squad over the summer, the Hammers have been unable to attract high-profile footballers to London, with Carlos Bacca the latest to reject an offer.
Even so, having kept hold of France superstar Dimitri Payet, West Ham can be backed at 4.00 (3/1) to achieve a top 6 finish in the Premier League.
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