West Ham striker Diafra Sakho has been ruled out of Saturday’s home game against Everton through injury. Manager Slaven Bilic revealed the Senegal international has suffered a rupture in his thigh, which also forced him to miss last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Watford.

However, Bilic expects Sakho, who has scored five goals this season, to be fit in time to face Tottenham in a fortnight:

“Sakho is out. It is not a major thing.

“He did not get injured in training but after training, before the Watford game, he felt something.

“Unfortunately it is a small tear, a rupture in his thigh. The prognosis is he will be back for the game after the international break.

“It’s a setback as he is a very important player to us. He dictates the rhythm of the game a lot, with his pace, quality and determination and the way he harasses defenders. ”

“It’s a blow, for sure. But it’s not a major setback.”

Better news for Bilic is the return of defenders Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna from spells out injured, with at least one of them poised to go into the starting line-up in place of suspended center back James Collins.

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The Hammers will also be boosted by the return of Alex Song after the international break. The former Arsenal midfielder has yet to make an appearance since re-signing from Barcelona after undergoing summer ankle surgery, but he is set to play in a friendly against Charlton this week.

“Song started training before Watford and he’s been with us for one week now,” added Bilic.

“He’s okay, there’s no problem whatsoever, he’s injury-free and now it’s a matter of fitness and match-fitness.

“We have a friendly game on Wednesday which he will play in and hopefully he’s going to be fit soon.”