The Athletic's West Ham journalist Roshane Thomas has provided more details about the injury to Declan Rice.

The Englishman has been ruled out for the next few weeks because of a knee injury and he missed West Ham's clash against Wolves last night, having played every minute of the Irons' preceding 29 top-flight games in 2020/21.

Details emerge about Rice injury

Thomas recently wrote an article for The Athletic and it carried more information about Rice's injury issue.

It is stated that the injury cropped up in the 64th minute of England's World Cup qualifier against Poland but the issue was of a rather innocuous nature. Having said that, the problem worsened overnight and a scan revealed the injury.

There is no ligament damage and the injury is external rather than internal. Rice is now said to be wearing a protective brace on the knee and has already begun rehab.

Thomas though, also noted West Ham's reaction in the article as he explained:

"The club are understood to be frustrated that Rice was not inspected after the game, though the player did not complain about the issue post-match, which would have prompted England to act. Players usually leave for home quickly if an international camp finishes with a home game and it was no different on Wednesday, with Rice, and Manchester City’s Phil Foden, among the later departures after completing random doping control checks.

"West Ham were also believed to be disappointed that they had not been informed about the issue, though England say there was an informal conversation with the club in which it was passed on that Rice had taken a knock that may be worth checking. West Ham were also provided with clips of the incident."

Rice injury is a blow to West Ham

With a 3-2 win over Wolves on Monday, David Moyes men jumped into the top four and they are only four points behind Leicester City immediately above them.

The Hammers' next few fixtures include ties against Chelsea, Leicester and Everton. These are clubs who happen to be around them in the table and not losing those games might be crucial for Moyes' side as their seek to maintain a Champions League position.

Only three West Ham players have picked up better WhoScored ratings than Rice this season, and if he had been fit, he would have been crucial for the upcoming games.

In other news, David Moyes has discussed the idea of two West Ham players leaving - read more here.