Scans confirm ligament damage for Ashton

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Scans on the damaged knee that forced him out of England's squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia, have confirmed that Ashton has a sprained medial knee ligament.

More injury woe: Dean Ashton could face six weeks out

The West Ham forward sustained the injury in the later stages of Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa but had been called up for England after scoring three goals in eight appearances.

The club's head physiotherapist George Cooper said: "We received the results of Dean's scan and they were what we expected which is that he had sprained the upper third of his medial ligament. In the majority of cases it will take up to six weeks for full recovery."

The injury is a bitter blow for the 23-year-old whose previous call-up to the England squad for an August 2006 friendly against Greece saw him pick up an ankle injury in training.

However, the Hammers have been boosted by news that striker Craig Bellamy began running again last Friday after an operation on a groin injury.

He will join up with the Wales squad ahead of their own qualifiers against Cyprus and San Marino - although he is set to sit out the first fixture.

Meanwhile, West Ham have confirmed that young winger Hogan Ephraim has extended his loan at Queen's Park Rangers for a third month.

The 19-year-old Academy graduate has been on loan at the Championship club since August and has made nine appearances in his first two months at Loftus Road.

His most recent outing came last night with Ephraim impressing in the 1-0 home defeat of Norwich City - the club's first victory of the season. Ephraim's loan will see him stay with QPR until November 6.