Irons hopeful over Nolan injury

Kevin Nolan has suffered a broken toe, but West Ham are confident intensive treatment will ensure a swift return to action for the captain.

Last Updated: 28/02/13 at 16:29 Post Comment

Kevin Nolan: Will miss West Ham's trip to Stoke

Kevin Nolan: Will miss West Ham's trip to Stoke

Nolan exacerbated a foot injury in Monday's 3-2 Premier League loss to Tottenham and will miss Saturday's match at Stoke.

But with over two weeks before the next match at Chelsea on March 17, the 30-year-old will be subject to rigorous treatment to ensure a speedy return.

West Ham were due to face Manchester United on March 9, but United are in the FA Cup quarter-finals that weekend.

The challenge by Mousa Dembele on Nolan angered West Ham boss Sam Allardyce, who on Thursday deferred his pre-match press conference duties to assistant Neil McDonald.

The possibility remains that the 30-year-old will miss a significant portion of the final 11 matches, with the Hammers' top-flight safety still to be assured.

"His toe's very, very sore," McDonald said.

"He's had problems in the past with it - all season really - and he got a really good kick on it.

"I'd imagine he'll not be available for Saturday and we'll see how the results come back and we'll see where he's at.

"He has been playing through the pain barrier. We'll assess it in the next couple of days."

United sit 14th on 30 points ahead of the trip to the Britannia Stadium to play Stoke this weekend, but have just three wins in 18 games in all competitions.

McDonald admits he is anxious but is trying to encourage the squad to look upwards, rather than worry about their six-point cushion to the relegation zone.

"We've always looked up the table this season," McDonald added.

"We've always tried to get into the top 10 and with a good result on Saturday we can push ourselves a little bit closer to that.

"The away form hasn't been as good as what we would've liked.

"I think our home form's been really, really good, even though we've lost a couple.

"We have to address that. We have to be a little bit more physical away from home and make sure we keep things tight, try to keep a clean sheet.

"If we can do that, that gives us a good chance to get back to winning ways on our away form."

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