Sam Allardyce is hopeful Dara O’Shea will be fit to face Southampton on Monday night but expects Branislav Ivanovic to have a period of time on the sidelines.
Both defenders were forced off against Chelsea last weekend having picked up injuries during the game at Stamford Bridge.
O’Shea suffered an ankle injury while Ivanovic sustained a hamstring issue.
The boss said: “Dara is looking very good for the Southampton game.
“We’ve got that extra couple of days with the game being on a Monday instead of a Saturday, which is a big help in terms of him playing.
“Branislav will be out for a long time, we think.
“We will have to assess it week-by-week, but certainly at the moment it looks like it’s going to be a long period.”
