Michail Antonio faces up to SIX weeks out after suffering setback in his recovery from a knee injury… with West Ham now rethinking Danny Ings’ potential loan move to Wolves

Michail Antonio is facing up to six weeks on the sidelines, with that setback and the potential injury to Jarrod Bowen having forced West Ham to press pause on Danny Ings’ potential loan move to Wolves.

Antonio was in line to feature against Bristol City in the FA Cup’s third round on Sunday after overcoming medial knee ligament damage. 

But the 33-year-old forward suffered a setback when he slipped in training on Friday. 

It is understood an assessment has shown he now faces four to six weeks out, having not appeared for the Hammers since mid-November.

West Ham are sending Bowen and Lucas Paqueta for scans on their ankle and knee issues respectively after they picked up problems against their Championship opponents on Sunday, though the club have to wait for swelling to go down first. Insiders hope neither will prove to be serious injuries.

The 33-year-old forward was due to return but suffered a setback when he slipped in training

The setback has forced David Moyes (left) to press pause on Danny Ings ’ (right) potential loan move to Wolves

Wolves have enquired about Ings, who is believed to be on £125,000 per week.

The 31-year-old striker is down the pecking order at West Ham, but the issues with Antonio and Bowen – as well as Paqueta’s problem and the loss of Mohammed Kudus to the Africa Cup of Nations – are making the Hammers think twice about sanctioning his departure. 

Manager David Moyes is wary of how stretched his attack already is.

Moyes has preferred to use Divin Mubama to Ings when turning to his substitutes’ bench this season. 

Yet the 19-year-old academy product has struggled to make an impact when given the chance, such as in Sunday’s disappointing 1-1 draw in the FA Cup.