West Ham striker Carlton Cole will be out for six weeks after suffering a groin injury on international duty with England.
The Hammers forward will miss the vast majority of the Upton Park club's end-of-season run-in as he recovers from the problem.
Cole sustained the injury during Saturday's friendly against Slovakia at Wembley with further examinations after the 4-0 victory revealing the extent of the damage.
The former Chelsea player came off the bench for Fabio Capello's men to replace Aston Villa's Emile Heskey in only the 15th minute but was forced to leave the field himself just 19 minutes later.
It had been reported that 11-goal Cole would miss the remainder of the campaign, but there is a chance he could now feature in the club's final two fixtures.
Gianfranco Zola's men, who are in contention for a European place, are at home to Middlesbrough on the final weekend of the season with a trip to Everton coming the week before on 16th May.
Zola said: "He will not need an operation but there is a problem between the muscle and the tendon in his groin. He will be out for six weeks."
Adding to the Italian's problems ahead of this weekend's clash against Sunderland is Radoslav Kovac picking up a knock and Scott Parker playing recently despite a groin problem.
"It's frustrating because they are important players for us and it is a crucial point of the season for us. But these situation make me think more and other players get more responsibility," Zola said.
"It is a problem that will make everyone better if we treat it in the right way."
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