West Ham set to be without Noble over Easter

West Ham midfielder Mark Noble could miss both games for the club over the crucial Easter period with a thigh injury.

Noble, 24, has been one of the star performers this season but he picked up the problem during the 4-2 defeat against Reading and was forced to come off at half-time.

With West Ham dropping more points in their attempts to gain automatic promotion, Sam Allardyce will be desperate to see his side get back on the winning trail when they face Barnsley and Birmingham in their next two games.

But the West Ham boss looks like he will have to reshuffle his midfield at a critical stage of the season as Noble seems unlikely to recover in time.

Allardyce said: "It looks like Mark has strained a thigh muscle so it depends how bad it is. It is unlikely we'll see him for the next two matches.

"If we're lucky he might make the next one, if we're unlucky then we'll have to see how deep the injury is in the thigh muscle when he has it scanned. We hope it's not serious as Mark is one of our key players."

Papa Bouba Diop has made a return to full training after being sidelined since January with a thigh problem and could make a timely return to the starting line-up.