West Ham captain Matthew Upson is out for the rest of the season with a damaged achilles.
The club have been told that the former England defender, who is out of contract in the summer, will play no further part in their battle for Premier League survival.
It leaves manager Avram Grant and defensive coach Wally Downes with limited options - Portuguese Manuel Da Costa, homegrown James Tomkins and New Zealand signing Winston Reid.
Upson, who is 31 and has been capped 21 times, limped off in the 1-0 home defeat to Birmingham 15 days ago when he played despite fears about his injury.
