Joe Cole is desperate to play again for West Ham United this season.

The People says Cole has flown to New York for a special fitness assessment in a bid to rejoin West Ham's end-of-season push.

The midfielder will have a full-body appraisal by physiotherapists Andy Barr and Dave Hancock as he tries to shake off a hamstring injury.

Cole, 31, has already been seen by sports injury specialist and Bayern Munich club doctor Hans Muller-Wohlfahrt in the last fortnight, having been sent to Germany by West Ham's medical team.

He has not played since straining the hamstring at Stoke on March 2.