West Ham's Fonte hopeful of strong return after ankle injury

Fonte, 33, missed West Ham's most recent Premier League game, a 4-1 defeat by Liverpool, after sustaining the injury during last month's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace and is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

(Reuters)

"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," the Portuguese told the club's website (www.whufc.com).

"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 have won just two of their opening 11 league fixtures to leave them 18th in the standings. Newly-appointed manager David Moyes will be hoping to turn things around when the London outfit travel to Watford on Nov. 19.

(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)