Slaven Bilic has braced himself for the worst as West Ham wait on news of Diafra Sako’s hamstring injury.
The 26-year-old scored in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday but limped off 66 minutes into the Premier League fixture.
Bilic confirmed on Tuesday that he would miss the EFL Cup quarter-final tie with United on Wednesday and fears he could be out for up to a month, depending on results of a scan.
That would be a crushing eventuality for West Ham and Sakho, given he only returned to the side on November 19 after a three-month lay-off with a back injury.