West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has revealed that striker Andy Carroll is likely to be on the sidelines for four to six weeks with a torn medial ligament injury.

The 26-year-old, who has suffered with a number of injury problems throughout his career, limped off the field during the Hammers' goalless draw with Southampton on Wednesday.

In this morning's press conference, Allardyce said: "A full diagnosis on Andy is yet to come and we should have that today but it looks like a few weeks.

"The medial ligament on the inside of his knee has a little tear from a fairly innocuous collision with the defender. If we're lucky it could be four to six weeks. It's a big blow for him and us but one we've got to cope with."

Carroll had only just returned from an ankle injury.