Injury briefing: West Ham trio should be back soon

Good news for Claret and Blues

West Ham supporters were nursing a Friday night hangover after everything seemed to go wrong for their team in a 1-0 loss at Sheffield United last week.

But they should be feeling happier after positive injury bulletins concerning goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and attackers Felipe Anderson and Michail Antonio.

Goalkeeper Fabianski suffered his second hip injury of the season at Bramall Lane but fears of another long layoff (he was sidelined for three months first time around) have proved unfounded.

Scans have revealed no major damage and it us expected that the Pole will miss no more than a fortnight of action.

Meanwhile, Anderson is expected to shake off a minor back injury sustained in Sheffield and Antonio (hamstring) will be assessed with a view to being involved for the first time this year.

Minor Mitrovic blow for Fulham

Fulham talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic is facing two to three weeks on the sidelines after suffering ankle ligament damage in Saturday's 1-0 victory at Hull.

If the Serbian striker misses a further three weeks he would be absent for four Sky Bet Championship fixtures – starting with tonight's televised match at home to Middlesbrough.

But the relatively short-term diagnosis has probably come as a relief to Fulham manager Scott Parker.

After the Hull game, a concerned Parker was preparing himself for the worst by saying "it doesn't look great".

However, he was much happier after hearing that his main man, who has scored 18 of Fulham's 41 league goals this season, would not miss a huge chunk of the season.

Double boost for Portsmouth

Portsmouth are coming on strong in the Sky Bet League One promotion race – taking 17 points from the last nine games – and have been boosted by news that two key defenders, left back Brandon Haunstrup and central defender Jack Whatmough, are closing in on returns to the starting line up.

Haunstrup made his return from knee surgery after little more than a one-month absence by appearing as a late substitute in 2-1 victory at home to Wimbledon last Saturday.

He could reclaim a starting berth when Pompey tackle Bolton.

The road to recovery has been tougher for Whatmough, who has had terrible luck with injuries.

The highly-rated 23-year-old was an unused substitute in the Wimbledon game as he plots his return from an 11-month layoff.

Whatmough then captained the reserves in a 1-1 draw away to Plymouth's second string on Monday, tasting action for the first time since February last year when he suffered a serious knee injury – his third long-term knee injury in four years.

After the match Whatmough said: "I've got full belief in myself after the work I've done.

"There was a great surgery and rehab, and we've made all the right steps."

Marcus Forss injury triggers AFC Wimbledon striker search

AFC Wimbledon are scouring the market for attacking reinforcements after losing their top scorer, Marcus Forss, to a serious hamstring injury.

Forss is is facing a lengthy layoff and has returned to his parent club Brentford, cutting short his season-long loan with the Wombles, where he had scored 11 league goals in 18 appearances.

His loss looks a huge blow for Wimbledon, bearing in mind he has scored ten of their 30 goals.

Wimbledon head coach Glyn Hodges said: "We are going to miss Marcus during the rest of the season, but we have to move on.

"We are obviously very disappointed, but it's a priority now to sign another forward."

Wimbledon are just two points above the League One drop zone and will be without suspended midfielder Scott Wagstaff for tomorrow's match at home to Peterborough.

Leyton Orient facing full-back shortage

Leyton Orient manager Ross Embleton is targeting a few new January recruits and will be looking particularly at full-backs having lost three of them – left-sided Joe Widdowson and right-sided Jamie Turley and Sam Ling - to injuries.

Turley was forced off during last Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Grimsby, increasing the problems for Embleton, who is bidding to steer the Londoners away from the League Two relegation battle.

Widdowson is the only one of the defensive trio considered close to a return but is not expected to be available for Orient's clash at Port Vale.

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