West Ham United have been dealt a blow with the news that influential forward Andriy Yarmolenko will be out for six months after damaging his Achilles.

The Ukraine international had to be stretchered off five minutes before half-time against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday after appearing to catch his studs in the turf.

He was replaced by Grady Diangana, as Erik Lamela’s first half header secured Tottenham a slender 1-0 win at the London Stadium.

Yarmolenko was in some discomfort as he left the pitch on Saturday and the Hammers’ fears have now been confirmed, with the 29-year-old set to be ruled out for six months after undergoing successful surgery yesterday morning.

The news will be a blow to the Irons, who are already without Jack Wilshere, Carlos Sanchez, Manuel Lanzini and Andy Carroll through injury.

Yarmolenko has impressed since moving to the London Stadium from Borussia Dortmund in the summer for a fee thought to be in the region of £17.5m, scoring twice in ten appearances for the Hammers so far.

Both of those goals came against Everton, as West Ham secured a 3-1 win at Goodison Park, a result which marked Manuel Pellegrini’s first Premier League victory as the club’s boss.

Head of medical services Richard Collinge told West Ham’s website: “Andriy’s operation went well and we will now work hard to support him throughout the rehabilitation process.

“His recovery will be planned very carefully and we have every confidence that he will return to full fitness within the scheduled timeframe.”