Neil McDonald has admitted he doesn’t know how long Diafra Sakho will be sidelined for but insists West Ham have kept in “constant contact” with Senegal regarding the striker’s fitnesss.

Senegal have accused the Hammers of a “lack of respect”, claiming the Premier League club waited until the last minute before advising them that the 25-year-old would be unavailable for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations.

Sam Allardyce’s number assistant addressed Senegal’s criticisms when he spoke to the press this morning.

McDonald told the Hammers’ website: “He's injured at the moment. We've been in constant contact with the Senegalese management team on his injury. Since he came back from playing with Senegal he's been uncomfortable but he's got through the games and then he got injured against West Brom. There's no way he can fly, he's probably going to miss the Africa Cup of Nations because of his injury, and we're going to miss him too."

Asked about Senegal’s lack of respect claim, McDonald continued: “I think we have respected them by giving them regular updates on his injury and keeping in constant contact. We've asked them to come across and assess him. He's had scans at the club, not to back it up but to prove that he is injured. All we can do is give them as much information as we have.

“I think lack of respect may have been taken out of context as Cheikhou Kouyate has gone. We're not trying to stop anyone from representing their country, the lad's injured."

McDonald was asked if there was a rule preventing Sakho from being playing for his club until after the tournament was over and he replied: "I'm not 100 percent sure what that situation is. I believe they have announced the squad and Diafra's not in it. We're not sure how long he is going to be out for anyway."