West Ham United winger Stewart Downing has broken down with an Achilles injury.
The Daily Mail says it can be revealed Downing required twelve stitches to an Achilles heel wound he sustained during the 4-1 defeat the Hammers suffered at Anfield on Saturday.
Downing was the victim of a fierce challenge by Liverpool full back Jon Flanagan early on in the game which West Ham boss Sam Allardyce believed was a red card offence.
The amount of stitches emphasised the extent of the wound and a West Ham source said: "Ideally we would like to think Stewart will be back in action in a couple of weeks.
"But it's a part of the body where it is difficult to train with the ball until it has fully healed. We will just have to wait and see."
