West Ham United defender Jose Fonte has vowed to return "stronger and fresher" after undergoing surgery on an ankle injury on Monday.
The 33-year-old sustained the injury during his side's recent 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace and is expected to miss up to three months, keeping him sidelined until 2018.
Fonte will come back to a side now managed by David Moyes following his appointment this morning, and the Portuguese veteran is determined to return to action as quickly as possible.
"Obviously I'm disappointed and frustrated because it was an unnecessary tackle [which caused the injury]. That's part of football and now it's time to focus on returning after the surgery on Monday and having a good recovery so I can be back as soon as possible," he told the club's official website.
"When the injury happened, I got up straight away, but then every step I was taking I was feeling a click on my ankle and a sharp pain, so I knew immediately something was wrong. I couldn't continue and then after the game it was very swollen
"Now I've had the surgery, I will have to wear a cast for two weeks, then a boot for two weeks and finally a brace for two weeks, so that's six weeks. Then after that it's getting back my fitness levels. I'm not scared of working hard, so I'll put the hard work in. We have great physios and great doctors at the club, so we'll be working hard together to be back stronger and fresher."
West Ham's next match, which will be Moyes's first in charge, sees them face Watford at Vicarage Road on November 19.
Barney Corkhill
