Tomas Soucek expected recovery timeframe emerges at West Ham after 'terrible' injury
Tomas Soucek faces a nervous wait to learn exactly how long he is set to miss for West Ham United.
The central midfielder sustained an injury in Czechia's 3-0 loss to Mexico in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Czechia's World Cup campaign is officially over, but Soucek would not have played any further part even if they had advanced.
Pavel Nedved, one of his country's greatest ever players, later said the injury "looked terrible on TV, but he has no fracture".
That is at least some positive news for West Ham, but Soucek still faces a period on the sidelines.
And with the Championship season beginning in a little over a month, it is possible the 31-year-old will be absent for the start of the campaign.
Two different scenarios possible for Tomas Soucek
Soucek has been linked with a summer exit from West Ham, but for now he remains on the books at the London Stadium.
Nuno Espirito Santo will be desperate to keep the experienced head, even more so with plenty of others set to depart.
Soucek's ankle injury at the World Cup is far from ideal for Nuno, who is now facing an anxious wait for more news.
According to injury expert Serhan Segitmen via his Physio Scout account on X, which has nearly 84,000 followers, two scenarios are possible.
"Eversion at the ankle after a jump poses concern for a medial/high ankle sprain," he posted.
"If it's a grade two or three deltoid ligament sprain [he faces] four-eight weeks out. If it's a high ankle sprain, six-10+ weeks with surgery.
"Likely a multi-week recovery here. Scans will be necessary to determine the extent of the time out."
It could well be that Soucek is out for a couple of months, then, although there have been other reports suggesting closer to the one-month mark.
In some ways, it may actually turn out to be positive news for West Ham.
Soucek injury could be blessing in disguise for West Ham
Soucek will not be short of suitors this summer, with David Moyes said to want him at Everton.
The 31-year-old will not exactly want to spend a season - or more - in the Championship at this stage of his career.
However, the fact he could be injured for a month or two - potentially even more in the worse-case scenario - may well put teams off.
Soucek would need to undergo a medical ahead of joining a new team, but it is safe to say that will not be happening anytime soon.
Losing the midfielder for the start of the season is a blow, of course, but the layoff may bring some longer-term positives with it.