Craig Bellamy says fit-again strike-partner Dean Ashton is primed for a big season at West Ham United.

He said: "Deano has had a big, big injury - and I know what that is like when you are out for a year.

"He needs to get himself right, get his ankle right and then get games under him.

"It took me a while to get my confidence back after a similarly big injury - but as soon as he gets it right, we'll all know about it.

"He's a top player, and I'm looking forward to seeing him back in action."

Bellamy suffered a cruciate knee injury when he was still a Norwich player in the summer of 1999 and was ruled out for 10 months - and he admits it takes time to rebuild confidence after such a bad injury.

He said: "I did my cruciate at Norwich, and it's very hard to come back from something like that.

"You basically need somebody to take you out in training to get the confidence in your body back.

"You know then that you're going to be okay and reassure yourself that it's going to be fine."