West Ham head of medical Richard Collinge has confirmed that defender Sam Byram has suffered a major injury blow which has seen him undergo surgery.
The 24-year-old full back returned to the club after picking up the knee blow while on loan at Nottingham Forest and while there was no official statement on the severity of the injury, Collinge, speaking to football.london journalist Sam Inkersole, has confirmed it was a significant setback which has required him to go under the knife.
Collinge also confirmed that Sam Byram, who was on-loan at Nottingham Forest, has had knee surgery. Andy Carroll expected back on the training pitches this week. Winston Reid still some way off but making progress.
— Sam Inkersole (@Sam_InkersoleTM) September 11, 2018
The right back, who has 36 appearances under his belt for the Irons, had made just three appearances for Forest during his loan spell, one of those coming in their Championship campaign.
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While he might not have been playing for West Ham this season, this blow will still be a bitter disappointment to the likes of Manuel Pellegrini, who would have no doubt been hoping that he could prove his worth and continue to develop with regular football at Forest. At 24 he still has every chance of making a success of himself at the London Stadium but it seems those chances have been cruelly ripped out from under him due to his layoff, and the fact it has required surgery hints it could be some time before he is stepping back onto a football pitch. It is a particularly nasty blow to Byram not only because it keeps him out of action, but it throws his future into severe uncertainty. He is not going to be able to prove he is worthy of playing for the Irons nor is he able to show off his talents to potential suitors to move clubs.