West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini is unable to put a timescale on Jack Wilshere’s recovery from his latest injury setback.
The former Arsenal midfielder’s stop-start Hammers career is on hold again due to a mystery ankle problem.
Wilshere underwent minor surgery in his left ankle in September and returned for five minutes as a substitute at Newcastle earlier this month.
But the 26-year-old is now experiencing pain in his other ankle and will miss a third straight match when West Ham head to Fulham on Saturday evening.
“Is it more serious than first thought? Maybe, because when he felt the pain it was in his ‘good’ ankle – it was not the ankle where he had the surgery,” said Pellegrini.
“We hoped it was just a pain and that he could adjust for two or three days but for different things it has been longer than we expected.
“It is very difficult to know. Maybe the doctor can answer better than me – on Wednesday he did a medical examination and when we get the results we will know.”
Despite Wilshere adding to a growing injury list, especially in midfield, Pellegrini insists a reunion with Yaya Toure is not on the cards.
Toure, a pivotal member of Pellegrini’s title-winning Manchester City side, is a free agent after leaving Olympiakos by mutual agreement on Tuesday after three months and just five appearances.
Pellegrini said: “I spoke with Yaya, yes, at the beginning of the season. I have always said he is a great player but I don’t know what happened with him in Greece.
“At this moment we are just thinking about the next game, I don’t want to talk until the end of December about which players we are going to need in the window.
“It is not a priority because we already have players in that position.”
Former City and Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri is continuing to train with West Ham prior to his proposed signing in January.