West Ham have been dealt a blow ahead of the busy festive period as forward Diafra Sakho has been ruled out for six weeks with a thigh injury.

The Senegal international sustained the problem during Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Manchester United in what was only his second appearance of the season.

The 26-year-old scored the Hammers’ goal at Old Trafford before being forced off with the injury during the second half of the contest.

Sakho underwent a scan on the problem and the club confirmed on their official website on Wednesday that the striker will now be out of action until the new year.

The injury will be a huge blow to West Ham as Sakho is set to miss eight first-team matches, including Wednesday night’s return to Old Trafford to take on United in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.

Sakho’s goal on Sunday was the first scored by a West Ham striker in the Premier League this season, with the likes of Simone Zaza and Jonathan Calleri misfiring in front of goal, while Andy Carroll has been sidelined for most of the campaign due to injury.

Carroll has an outside chance of returning to action this week and boss Slaven Bilic will be hoping his strikers can rediscover their goalscoring touch soon.

West Ham are available at 7.50 to secure a victory against United on Wednesday night,while the Red Devils are priced at 1.40 and the draw is on offer at 4.75.