West Ham United centre-back Issa Diop could reportedly miss the rest of the season after sustaining an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw with Burnley last weekend.
The 25-year-old was handed starts in the last two games by David Moyes after Kurt Zouma picked up a knee injury in the defeat at Brentford earlier this month.
According to The Guardian, Diop's season could now be over after initial tests revealed that he sustained ligament damage, which will force him to sit out the next eight weeks.
Diop is set to join fellow centre-backs Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna on the sidelines, meaning Craig Dawson will be West Ham's only recognised central defender for the remainder of this campaign.
Moyes suggested ahead of West Ham's second-leg victory over Lyon in the Europa League last week that Declan Rice is an option to play at centre-back, though the Hammers boss insisted that he would prefer to play the England international in midfield.
However, a defensive crisis could now force Moyes to drop Rice into the back four for their upcoming games, with their next fixture against London rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, before facing Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on April 28.
Oliver Thomas
