Ashton missing for rest of season

The 23-year-old has undergone minor surgery to remove scar tissue from the ankle he broke while on duty with the England squad in August.

West Ham head physio Steve Allen admitted: "It will be six weeks before he is back running."

Ashton had suffered a succession of frustrating setbacks in his attempt to to recovery from the injury and rejoin West Ham's battle against relegation.

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Allen said: "We have left no stone unturned in our attempt to get Dean back out on the football field as soon as possible.

"But it was clear that he had gone as far as he could with the methods that had been used, and the only option was to have another look at the injury site.

"We sought the opinions of the leading ankle specialists in the country and, following their advice, the decision was made to operate. "

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