London, Dec 23 (IANS): West Ham United's Senegalese striker Diafra Sakho is expected to remain out for about three months due to surgery on his back, which means he will miss the African Cup of Nations football tournament to be played from January 14 to February 5 in Gabon.
West Ham coach Slaven Bilic on Thursday confirmed the loss of Sakho, who missed the start of the season and reappeared last month, reports Efe.
Bilic said that Sakho has a back problem and it will rule him out for six to eight weeks and possibly up to 10 weeks.
Last year, West Ham were fined by FIFA for not allowing Sakho, who was also injured at that time, to go to the African Cup of Nations.