West Ham new signing Andre Ayew out for four months with thigh injury

West Ham's record signing Andre Ayew will be out for at least four months, the Hammers' co-owner David Gold has confirmed on Twitter. The news will come as a major shock for the London-based club, who were banking on the Swansea forward to provide some much-needed creativity up front.

The Ghana forward only spent 35 minutes on his debut at Stamford Bridge before being taken off ahead of their Europa League qualifying clash against Astra Giurgiu on Thursday (18 August). Ayew joins another new signing, Sofiane Feghouli, on the sidelines as well as Aaron Cresswell and Manuel Lanzini.

"Sad news. Ayew has injured his quadriceps and will need surgery. He will be out for 4 months. Good luck Andre," Gold said. He was preceded by West Ham's head of medical and sports science, Stijn Vandenbroucke, who confirmed that the player will be out for a long time.

"Andre Ayew injured his right thigh at Chelsea on Monday and underwent a scan on Wednesday afternoon," Vandenbroucke told whufc.com. "The medical team will now assess the results with a leading consultant before drawing any conclusions.

"My first thought and priority is with the player and his physical and mental well-being. He has suffered a significant injury and it is imperative that we do not rush to conclusions and we receive the correct diagnosis by consulting top specialists.

"At this time, it is too early to put a time frame on his potential return date but Andre is facing a significant rehabilitation period. The best thing we can do as a Club is to support Andre through this difficult period. We will keep you updated throughout this process and I am sure he will be come back stronger than ever."

Slaven Bilic will be hoping that the club's top performer Dimitri Payet is able to recover his form from last season and set the league alight after a brilliant European Championship. The midfielder, who signed from Marseille last summer, was included in the PFA Team of the year last year following his brilliant run.