West Ham have been dealt another injury blow with the news that defender Arthur Masuaku will be out for at least six weeks.
Masuaku, 22, was signed from Olympiakos for £6 million in August as cover for injured left-back Aaron Cresswell. But Masuaku has now joined Cresswell on the casualty list after damaging knee ligaments during the EFL Cup win over Accrington on Wednesday night.
For manager Slaven Bilic it is another problem to solve in a defence that has conceded eight goals in their previous two Premier League outings.
The Hammers face Southampton on Sunday without a recognised senior left-back, so Alvaro Arbeloa or Sam Byram is likely to move across from right-back to fill in.
"Masuaku did his knee against Accrington, he damaged ligaments and we will know better in a week but it's going to be at least six weeks, if not more," Bilic said. "Some players can play in different positions, and you can fill gaps, but when you have two left-backs who have done the same ligaments it's not good news.
"But I'm not looking for excuses. But we have a good team and I expect us to do it on Sunday."
Bilic can welcome centre-half Winston Reid back after a couple of weeks on the sidelines and also had positive news on Cresswell, as well as injury-hit striker Andy Carroll.
"It was in the papers on the day we played Accrington that Carroll had had a setback, but it's not true," he added. "We are expecting him and Cresswell to join and train with the team after the international break.
"Injury wise we look much better than at the beginning of the season. We have a good team and I expect us to be really good in every way on Sunday afternoon."
Summer signing Andre Ayew and fellow forward Diafra Sakho are still out.