Etherington Injury Not As Bad As First Feared

Etherington was stretchered off the Stadium of Light field after a crunching tackle by Black Cats midfielder Jeff Whitley and thoughts were that his season could be over having suffered a leg fracture.

However, Hammers boss Alan Pardew has confirmed that Etherington has not suffered a fracture.

"Thankfully Matty's injury doesn't look too serious. It isn't a fracture," Pardew said.

"But I thought it was a poor tackle, very high, and it cost us dearly because we missed his quality."