Craig Bellamy may need further surgery on a persistent groin problem which could force him into a prolonged period on the sidelines.

The West Ham United striker travelled to Germany for a hernia operation in early October and was miraculously back in action for his country later the same month.

But he has managed just two appearances for West Ham since, limping out of the goalless draw at Portsmouth with a recurrence of the groin injury.

"Craig is still struggling. We went down one route where we sent him to Germany and he had an operation - which Mark Noble also had done and it's worked for him," Alan Curbishley, the West Ham manager, said. "It's a different problem that Craig has got. He's been to see another specialist this week about it and we've now got to decide what course of action to take.

"One route is injections, which might not be so long term if they work, and the other is another operation, which would be longer. We have to decide in the next couple of days. It's so frustrating, a lot of the players we have brought in over the summer just haven't been able to get going, it's just one thing after another."

Better news for Curbishley is the return to fitness of Noble and knee-injury victims Scott Parker and Dean Ashton ahead of Sunday's London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.