Source: Telegraph
West Ham's Danny Gabbidon plays for first time in 18 months
Gabbidon was West Ham's player of the year in his first season, 2005-06, and was also voted the Welsh player of the season for his performances with John Toshack's side.
The central defender's last appearance for West Ham was in January 2008 when he suffered an abdominal problem and complications followed.
Recently, he admitted he feared his career could be over, but, at the age of 29, he was able to complete 45 minutes at non-league Grays Athletic.
Manager Gianfranco Zola changed the team at half-time, and Gabbidon got through unscathed as West Ham won 2-1.
West Ham were missing several key players, most of whom will join the club on Austria today when they continue their preparations.
But for Zola, the victory was a positive start and he said: "Everyone came through, which was good because we have only had one week of hard training and this is still very early in pre-season.
Newcomer Luiz Jimenez arrived in England at the weekend after completing his loan spell from Inter Milan, and should feature in Austria.
But Zola admitted that West Ham need to sign more players in attack, adding: "We are trying to spot what our weaknesses are. Certainly we need to improve up front and that is the majority of the job."
Meanwhile, West Ham today unveiled their new first-team kit for the coming season with actor and fan Ray Winstone modelling the predominantly claret shirt on the club's website.
