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West Ham were today continuing to explore the possibility of making a compensation claim against the Football Association following an injury to Stewart Downing while on England duty.
The club believe that Downing was given an injection by the England medical staff following a knee injury the midfielder sustained before the Euro qualifier at home to Slovenia on November 15.
Downing played only 45 minutes of the friendly against Scotland the following Tuesday before being withdrawn by England coach Roy Hodgson and was not fit enough to play for West Ham last Saturday, in the 2-1 defeat at Everton.
The Hammers believe that the 30-year-old would have been fit for the Everton match had he not been injected whilst on England duty, a contention disputed by the FA.
It is understood West Ham are still assimilating the facts before deciding whether or not to launch a compensation claim.
Downing, meanwhile, continues to receive treatment for the knee injury and could return for Saturday’s home match against Newcastle.
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Manager Sam Allardyce is also hoping that at least two other players missing for the trip to Goodison will have recovered to face Newcastle, who have won five successive Premier League matches and went above West Ham after their victory over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
Both striker Diafra Sakho and midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate returned from international duty with Senegal with injuries but are hopeful of being fit for the match.
