Source: Daily_Mail
Cole in World Cup limbo as West Ham face anxious wait over injury verdict
West Ham face an anxious wait to discover whether Carlton Cole will be out for the rest of the season with the England striker left to sweat over his World Cup dream.[LNB]The Hammers have sent Cole to see a specialist after the in-form star suffered knee ligament damage following a nasty collision with Clarets goalkeeper Brian Jensen and was replaced at half-time in last weekend's 5-3 victory over Burnley.[LNB]Despite initial fears that the 26-year-old could miss the next four months, the club are said to be hopeful that they will receive a positive verdict and that Cole may only be sidelined between five and six weeks.[LNB] Wait and see: West Ham are hopeful injured striker Carlton Cole may return earlier than initially feared[LNB]However doubt remains over whether the former Chelsea academy product may require surgery on his injured knee and, if so, his chances of making Fabio Capello's England World Cup squad for South Africa would almost definitely be over.[LNB][related] Meanwhile, Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola knows he has a difficult task on his hands to restructure his fragile defence after captain Matthew Upson was ruled out ahead of Saturday's showdown with champions Manchester United.[LNB]The England defender is left nursing a troublesome hamstring problem and the Italian looks set to stick with the pairing of Manuel Da Costa and Danny Gabbidon.[LNB] Fragile warning: Gianfanco Zola knows his leaky defence, without captain Matthew Upson for the visit of Manchester United, are vulnerable[LNB]'We are looking fragile at the back. I know we have to defend better,' he said.[LNB] [item name=module id=1017989 style=4 /]'We know we are leaking goals but it is not only a defensive problem but also the midfield are not covering the defence.[LNB]'We know the problem and have been working all week to sort it out. We will see some improvements.'[LNB] [related] [LNB] Explore more:People:Matthew Upson, Gianfranco Zola, Danny Gabbidon, Fabio Capello, Brian JensenPlaces:United Kingdom, South Africa
