LONDON ¿ England midfielder Kieron Dyer, playing in only his third match for West Ham United, has suffered a double fracture of his right leg, the Premier League club confirmed yesterday.

Dyer, 28, who has a long history of injuries, collapsed in agony after just nine minutes following a tackle by Joe Jacobson during West Ham's 2-1 win over Bristol Rovers in the League Cup second round on Tuesday.

A statement on West Ham's Web site (www.whufc.com) said Dyer had broken both the tibia and fibula of his right leg.

"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 club said.

Dyer, who made his 33rd appearance for England as a substitute in a friendly against Germany last week, joined West Ham from Newcastle United for $12 million earlier this month.

His latest injury setback continues a run of bad luck on the fitness front for West Ham since Alan Curbishley took over as manager last season.

Lucas Neill, Matthew Upson, Freddie Ljungberg, Julien Faubert and Scott Parker have all been sidelined with Curbishley commenting: "I am sitting here with £20 million worth of injured players.

"We are devastated for Kieron — the game was immaterial after the injury. I think the Bristol Rovers player has got to be very disappointed with his tackle. He lashed out after losing the ball, caught Kieron in a difficult position and that's what you get."

However Rovers boss Paul Trollope said the injury was a complete accident.

"The story is coming out it was a malicious tackle and that he's gone to do him. That is wide of the mark. Joe is not that kind of player and we are not that kind of club. Joe just swung his leg and its a very unfortunate incident."