England international Kieron Dyer suffered a double leg fracture during Tuesday night's Carling Cup clash with Bristol Rovers, his club side West Ham United have confirmed.
The recent £6million signing from Newcastle United was caught by Rovers defender Joe Jacobson early in the Hammers' 2-1 win.
He was stretchered from the pitch at the Memorial Stadium, and a series of X-rays last night have revealed the 28-year-old fractured the tibia and fibula in his right leg.
A statement on club website www.whufc.com said: 'It is too early to say at this stage how long the player will be out for as this will become clearer once the first stage of surgery is completed.'
The injury is the latest serious fitness problem suffered by the midfielder, who made his international debut against Luxembourg in September 1999.
Previous setbacks include a stress fracture of the foot, knee ligament trouble, shin splints and injuries to his back and hamstring.
The new injury is sure to rule Dyer out of the remainder of England's European Championship qualifying campaign which ends in November, and he may even struggle to prove his fitness in time should Steve McClaren's men qualify for next summer's finals.
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