A knee injury suffered by Michail Antonio is not as serious as initially feared, with the West Ham United striker expected to return within a month.

The 33-year-old picked up the problem while playing for Jamaica against Canada on Saturday. It was reported that the forward had damaged a hamstring but the issue was actually his knee.

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Despite concerns of a rupture to the medial ligament, scans have revealed only a strain that is expected to keep him out for two to three weeks.

Antonio has appeared in all 12 of West Ham’s Premier League matches so far this season — starting 11 — with his absence likely to leave manager David Moyes short of attacking options.

In the one top-flight game he did not start, winger Jarrod Bowen started as West Ham’s No 9. Danny Ings and 19-year-old Divin Mubama are Moyes’s alternative centre-forward possibilities.

Antonio made his Jamaica debut in September 2021, having previously been involved in England squads without registering an appearance.

West Ham return to Premier League action at Burnley on Saturday, followed by a trip to Backa Topola in the Europa League on Thursday.

They then face a trio of London derbies against Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham.

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How will West Ham cope without Antonio?

Analysis by West Ham correspondent Roshane Thomas

News of Antonio’s injury — albeit with a better prognosis than it might have been — will be a blow for David Moyes.

Though Antonio has scored two only goals across 14 appearances this season, he has remained West Ham’s first-choice striker.

There is a further blow for Moyes with in-form Bowen sustaining a minor knee injury while on international duty with England. Bowen, West Ham’s leading scorer this season with nine goals in 16 games, has been a dependable offensive presence over the past few years. Should Bowen miss this Saturday’s Premier League game at Burnley, Moyes may call on Danny Ings play the lone striker.

Mubama and Maxwel Cornet are other forward options, but the former has yet to appear in the Premier League and the latter has featured for just one minute domestically in this campaign.

(Photo: Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)

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