Carlton Cole is facing a spell on the sidelines but does not need surgery on his damaged knee ligaments, it has emerged.

A statement on the official West Ham United website confirmed that the striker, who has scored seven league goals this season, will not require an operation to ease his sport injury problems.

The Premier League club said that Cole will "start his rehab with the aim of being back as soon as possible".

Meanwhile, BBC Sport reported that the 26-year-old England international is expected to miss at least six matches for the Hammers, who face Manchester United at Upton Park on Saturday (December 5th).

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola commented: "We are talking about weeks not months. We will take it day by day."

Having just returned from a hamstring strain, Cole suffered his latest sport injury in the east London side's 5-3 home victory over Burnley last weekend.