Noble set for lengthy lay-off

Mark Noble will be sidelined until December after undergoing surgery to correct 'abdominal pains'.

The 23-year-old midfielder, who received rave reviews after virtually single-handedly reversing West Ham's fortunes during last week's 3-1 League Cup win against Stoke is set to miss the next month in an attempt to resolve the problem, which is said to have emerged following a training session earlier this week.

The news comes at the worst possible time for the Canning Town-born player, who made his 125th Premier League appearance for West Ham in Saturday's narrow 1-0 defeat at Arsenal and was beginning to make his mark in the first team following a season of indifferent form.