West Ham United Football Club News

• Nickname:Hammers
• Founded:1895
• Manager:Sam Allardyce

• Ground:Upton Park
• Capacity:35,595

Upson boost for Hammers

05 Feb 2007 - 12:50:50

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West Ham United expect to have Matthew Upson back from the calf injury he picked up on his weekend debut in three weeks' time.

Upson, 27, lasted just 30 minutes of his first appearance for the Hammers in Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa before limping off with a calf problem.

But scans have revealed the injury suffered by the £6million central defender isn't as bad as was first feared and he could be back before the end of February.

"Matthew underwent an MRI scan on Sunday that revealed a small tear in his gastrocnemius muscle, and the estimated recovery period is around three weeks," West Ham's head physiotherapist Steve Allen told the club's official website.

"However, he has responded well to initial treatment and the injury is looking much better this morning (Monday), so we are hopeful that he might be back even sooner."

Meanwhile, the Hammers have also confirmed that fellow defenders Lucas Neill and Anton Ferdinand are expected to return to full training this week.