West Ham United manager Alan Pardew has been boosted by the news that defender Anton Ferdinand's hamstring strain is not as serious as first thought, and will be available for the start of the Premiership season.

It was feared that the centre-back would miss the start of new Premiership season after pulling up during a pre-season friendly defeat to IFK Gothenburg on Saturday.

The 21-year-old was forced to fly back to London from the club's pre-season tour of Sweden to have a precautionary scan and tests have shown his hamstring strain is only a minor one.

Ferdinand will now be sidelined for up to a fortnight, with the talented defender due back in training in the near future.

“The injury is not as bad as we initially thought,” the team’s head physiotherapist Steve Allen told the West Ham official website.

“Anton is now back at Chadwell Heath (the West Ham training ground) undergoing intensive physiotherapy, and we are looking forward to seeing him resume full training soon.”

The Premiership season kicks-off on August 19, with Ferdinand likely to be back to full fitness for West Ham’s home fixture against Charlton Athletic at The Boleyn Ground.

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