Ashton surgery another headache for Zola
Dean Ashton to undergo ankle surgery that will rule him out for eight weeks in total
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Friday, 26, Sep 2008 11:08
West Ham striker Dean Ashton is set to undergo ankle surgery that will rule him out for a further month.
The 24-year-old already faced four weeks on the sidelines for a training injury that saw him miss the Hammers' last two games.
West Ham confirmed on Friday the striker would undergo exploratory surgery to help assess the extent of the damage to his left ankle.
"Dean Ashton will undergo arthroscopic surgery to his left ankle next week," the club explained.
Ashton is yet to play under new Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola, with the Italian set to be without the striker for the club's next five Premier League matches.
Since Zola arrived at Upton Park, the club's sponsor – XL Holidays – went bankrupt and Sheffield United won their compensation claim over the Carlos Tevez affair.
Ashton's surgery will also see him miss England's World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus.
The former Norwich star was on the brink of spearheading England's attack during the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign before a broken ankle ruled him out of the entire 2006/07 campaign, with injuries restricting him to a handful of appearances in 2007/08.