WEST HAM UNITED have confirmed that Jess Ziu’s injury suffered on club duty last week is as serious as was anticipated, with the Republic of Ireland star set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines after rupturing her ACL.

Ziu, 20, was stretchered off against London City Lionesses last Sunday and consequently joined a long list of Ireland internationals who will miss Tuesday’s World Cup play-off versus Scotland at Hampden Park.

Ireland are already without Megan Connolly (ribs), Ruesha Littlejohn (foot), Leanne Kiernan (ankle) and Ellen Molloy (knee), as well as long-term absentees Savannah McCarthy and Aoife Colvill (both ACL), for the historic fixture in Glasgow, which will be broadcast live on RTÉ Two (kick-off 8pm).

But the gravest concerns of both Ireland boss Vera Pauw and her West Ham equivalent Paul Konchesky have been realised in the severity of the injury suffered by Ziu during the Hammers’ Continental Cup clash with their fellow capital club.

“Jess sustained an injury in the second half of our match against London City Lionesses,” said West Ham’s sports therapist, Jackson Bradley.

“It became apparent that the injury was a serious one because of the amount of pain that she was in. Jess was stretchered off and a subsequent scan revealed that she had sustained an ACL rupture injury.

“Jess is now seeing a specialist ahead of surgery, and we will then have a clearer picture around her timeline of recovery.”