West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce says he will have to be very careful with the amount of contact work he does at training.
The Hammers have a long injury list following Saturday's 2-1 loss to Everton and with striker Carlton Cole now suspended for three matches because of his red card, Allardyce is well aware just how dire the situation at Upton Park is.
"We had 10 players who were fit and one was about 80 per cent fit and that was all we had," the Hammers boss told reporters.
"We had Jack Collison, who hasn't kicked a ball since the play-off final, and Alou Diarra, who hasn't kicked a ball in three months, that is how bare-bones we are at the moment.
"Medical staff are busier than us as coaches at the moment. We can't afford any more contact or any more injuries, so we can't even do any training.
"If we try to do any training and try to do any shape or build-up for Reading (on December 29), we will get contact between players and, if you get contact between players, you risk injury and we can't do that.
"We can't even get out on the field and do a bit of coaching at the moment."
