West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has announced the release of striker Mladen Petric following his failure to recover from injury.

The Croatian international, 33, signed a short-team deal at Upton Park in the summer after ending his one-season spell with their London rivals Fulham.

However, he made only three substitute appearances for the Hammers, failing to find the net in any, and has not earned an extension to his contract due to an ongoing fitness concern.

Allardyce told reporters: "Mladen Petric has been released on the fact that unfortunately, for whatever reason, he never recovered from his injury that he picked up."

The Hammers boss also revealed that forward Ricardo Vaz Te has signed a new deal until 2015.