West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has moved to clarify the comments that infuriated Queens Park Rangers striker Charlie Austin on Thursday.
Sullivan poured cold water on speculation linking United with a move for the 25-year-old by questioning his fitness record, having failed a Hull City medical two years ago.
Austin, who netted 18 Premier League goals last term, hit back and claimed that what the Hammers chief said was an "outrageous slur" on his "professionalism".
However, Sullivan cleared up the fracas with clarification via his son's Twitter account.
"He is a player I greatly admire. However, he failed a medical at Hull two years ago. Clearly an old injury left a severe doubt with the Hull medical team about the longevity of his career," he said.
"I fully accept he is playing very well and the old injury is not impacting upon him at this moment in time. I was simply saying at West Ham United we've been very unlucky with injuries to strikers, going right back to Dean Ashton.
"Three of our main four strikers are injured at this moment in time. So for us, with our limited budget, our bad luck over injured strikers and the fact he failed a medical at Hull would be a risk we couldn't take. However, I'm sure many other clubs would take a different view and I hope he plays on until he's 37 or 38 as he's clearly a super professional and a great player."
Austin is expected to leave Loftus Road before the transfer window closes on September 1.
Shane Callaghan
