West Ham United stars Enner Valencia and James Tomkins suffer injuries ahead of Arsenal clash

West Ham United have suffered a major blow ahead of their visit to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday after Sam Allardyce confirmed that in-form forward Enner Valencia could miss the game with a lacerated toe.

The forward reportedly suffered a deep cut on his big toe after stepping on a broken glass at his home. The Ecuadorian international needed emergency medical assistance and the manager feels that it is too soon for him to be facing Arsenal.

Allardyce was disappointed to hear of the news, as he was hoping to have Valencia for the trip to north London as they look to keep their hopes of qualifying for a European place alive after having won just one game in their previous ten encounters in the Premier League.

"Enner has had an accident at home and has cut his big toe quite severely on a broken cup. It has been stitched. We're not exactly certain but we think it will be too soon for him be considered for the game at Arsenal on Saturday. It was a freak accident at a time when we could have done without it due to our lack of available strikers," Allardyce said, as quoted by the Guardian.

The 25-year-old forward has been impressive for West Ham this season and his performances have attracted the interest of Chelsea, who were reportedly planning a move for him if they failed to land Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina.

West Ham's injury nightmare did not end there, as a Telegraph report suggests that defender James Tomkins could be out for a lengthy period of time after suffering a suspected shoulder dislocation during training on Thursday.

Allardyce will now travel to Arsenal on Saturday with just one fit central defender in James Collins, as Winston Reid is already out with a hamstring injury. The manager will also be without his first choice right-back as Carl Jenkinson, who is on-loan from Arsenal and cannot feature against his parent club.