Winston Reid will miss New Zealand’s clash with South Korea on Tuesday as he continues to struggle with a hamstring injury.

The West Ham defender sustained the problem during the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on March 4 and missed the Hammers’ defeat to Arsenal and victory over Sunderland.

The 26-year-old was allowed to join up with the New Zealand squad ahead of their fixture in Seoul next week, but it has now been confirmed by his national team boss Anthony Hudson that the defender is not yet fit enough to return to action.

He said: “We gave Winston until the very last moment to see if he would be able to be part of the camp here in Seoul. It’s a shame his injury hasn’t fully healed and he won’t be part of this trip.”

The 34-year-old boss went on to praise the Irons for their willingness to allow the centre-back to join up with the rest of the All Whites squad, but it now seems that the defender will return to London for further treatment.

Hudson added: “West Ham have been very co-operative and we had the chance to bring Winston out here to be part of the camp off the field, which we decided against.”

The former Danish Under-21 international will now be hoping to be fit for the Hammers’ next match with Leicester on April 4.

Victory over Sunderland last time out was West Ham’s first win in eight matches in all competitions and they go into the game with the bottom-of-the-table Foxes as 3.13 outsiders to take all three points.

Leicester are available at 2.27 with the draw on offer at 3.23.