West Ham hit by knee injury to Boa Morte

NEWS ROUND-UP:WEST HAM United's determination to strengthen their attack by signing Bayern Munich's Luca Toni and Eidur Gudjohnsen of Barcelona has intensified after Luis Boa Morte damaged a cruciate ligament which could rule him out until the new year.

Boa Morte sustained the injury to his right knee during West Ham’s 1-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League Asia Cup in Beijing yesterday.

The club’s chief executive, Scott Duxbury, and technical director, Gianluca Nani, had already decided to remain in Europe to pursue Toni and Gudjohnsen.

Boa Morte’s fate leaves West Ham with only two senior forwards in Carlton Cole and the injured Dean Ashton, whose future is still unclear.

Despite reports linking Stoke City with the 25-year-old there has been no official approach for the striker, who has a long-term ankle injury.

Duxbury and Nani decided to travel to two destinations in Europe rather than to Beijing, suggesting negotiations for Gudjohnsen or Toni or both may have reached an advanced stage.

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola is keen to sign an experienced striker with international pedigree as he seeks to improve on last season’s ninth-place finish.

The club was downbeat over Boa Morte, who suffered the injury in what appeared an innocuous challenge with Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

“Luis Boa Morte could be out until 2010 after suffering anterior cruciate ligament damage in his right knee,” a statement said.

“Boa Morte will undergo further tests to determine whether or not he will require surgery when the swelling on his injured knee goes down.”

Zola was visibly upset. “It is a big blow for me,” he said. “He is an important player both on the pitch and off the pitch.”

Despite their gruelling summer, Tottenham looked the better side against London rivals West Ham yesterday and perhaps should have won by an even greater margin but for a number of missed chances. Jermain Defoe’s second-half strike secured a place against Hull in tomorrow’s final of the Asia Trophy.

A lethargic Hull scraped through with a 5-4 win on penalties against Beijing Guoan.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp gave run-outs to Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Robbie Keane up front, and was delighted with what he saw at Beijing’s Workers Stadium.

“It was a terrific workout,” said Redknapp, who this week added England striker Peter Crouch to his squad.

“Defoe looked so sharp, it was only a matter of time before he took his chance, and he had a few other opportunities that he made for himself with tricky pace and movement. I was very pleased with him.

“We have good options and now we have Crouch. We are looking stronger and we need to push on, and if I can improve the squad further before the start of the season then I will.”

Particularly impressive was Kyle Naughton, who joined last week from Sheffield United. Though normally a right-back, the 20-year-old was deployed on the right of midfield and caused problems for the West Ham defence. “He did very well,” added Redknapp. “ Hopefully he will be a Tottenham player for many years to come.”