Confirmed: Ashton's season over

  • by Matthew O'Greel
  • Wednesday, 21st March 2007

West Ham United have revealed that Dean Ashton will not play again this season.

One of football's worst-kept secrets was finally confirmed this morning when the club announced that Ashton will not return again this year, on their website at whufc.com.

Head physio Steve Allen said:

"We have left no stone unturned in our attempt to get Dean back out on the football field as soon as possible, but it was clear that he had gone as far as he could with the methods that had been used.

"We sought the opinions of the leading ankle specialists in the country and, following their advice, the decision was made to operate.

"It will be six weeks before he is back running, and we felt that the timing was right, in order for Dean to make a fresh start with the rest of his team-mates when the squad returns for pre-season training in the summer."

"His comeback is likely to be delayed until April at the earliest, although rumours that he is unlikely to play again at all this season persist"
KUMB.com news, 12th February 2007

Ashton - whose only appearance at the Boleyn Ground this season came in the pre-season friendly against Olympiakos - has privately admitted to a number of supporters recently that his chances of returning to first-team action this season are virtually nil.

All of which means that fans are unlikely to ever see the dream partnership of Ashton and Carlos Tevez in action - a partnership which, on paper, would appear to on par with the best the Premiership has to offer.

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