West Ham defender Winston Reid suffered hamstring strain in Everton defeat

Key defender Winston Reid could be considered doubtful for West Ham's London derby clash with Tottenham Hotspur later this month after being diagnosed with an injury. The influential centre-back would have missed this weekend's Premier League visit of Stoke City to the Olympic Stadium anyway after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season in Sunday's (30 October) 2-0 defeat at Everton, but is now struggling with a hamstring strain.

Such a problem will see New Zealand captain Reid sidelined throughout the forthcoming international break, with All Whites manager Anthony Hudson admitting that it would have been the "wrong decision" to include him in his 23-man squad for an upcoming OFC third-round 2018 World Cup qualifying double-header against New Caledonia. Leeds United striker Chris Wood will skipper the side in his absence.

"He [Reid] felt it in the game on Sunday against Everton," Englishman Hudson was quoted as saying by New Zealand news website Stuff.co.nz. "After the game he met with the physio but we didn't think it was that bad. We've just been monitoring it over the last few days. He's had a scan and unfortunately he's got a strain in his hamstring.

"Listen, I'm disappointed, Winston I can assure you is disappointed. I've been speaking to him this morning. Especially after the last tour, he had a great tour, he enjoyed the tour and he was really looking forward to coming back to New Zealand.

"It's just part of the game and part of international football. This is not just singled out for New Zealand, every national team has this. We've had probably four or five injuries every window and it just so happens Winston's not with us on this tour."

He added: "The worst thing you can do with hamstring injury is jump on plane. The question is do we have a squad capable of winning these games, and the answer is yes. If we were playing an intercontinental playoff and desperately needed him and he couldn't play the first game, maybe we might might have to force him and take a risk to get him for the second. Certainly for now it would be totally the wrong decision for games against New Caledonia."

Hudson reportedly believed that Reid could be ruled out for between three to five weeks with what was initially thought to be a grade two hamstring strain, meaning that he would miss out on Tottenham in addition to back-to-back games against Manchester United and a top-flight meeting with Arsenal. West Ham are hopeful over the injury, however, with Slaven Bilic revealing in his pre-Stoke press conference on Thursday morning that the player had suffered only a minor issue.

"Winston Reid picked up a grade one hamstring injury but is suspended," he told reporters at Chadwell Heath.