9:59am Monday 5th May 2008
By Rob Pritchard
DEFENDERS Matthew Upson and Anton Ferdinand may be fit for West Ham's final game of the season.
At Old Trafford, full-back Lucas Neill and teenager James Tomkins filled in at centre back for the third game in succession.
Upson had a calf problem and Ferdinand a strained hamstring, but assistant boss Mervyn Day confirmed both could return for Aston Villa's visit to Upton Park on Sunday.
"Ferdinand was running on the pitch (at Old Trafford) before the game so we're hopeful that he might have a chance of being fit.
"Matty did some running on Friday so we're hopeful but we've been hopeful of a few of them for three or four weeks.
"Realistically I've never known at any club I've been at, and I've been in this game at least 35 years, the number of injuries we've sustained this year."
But Dean Ashton is facing a race to be fit for the Villa clash after pulling a groin muscle in scoring a fine overhead kick at the weekend.
"Dean Ashton was going to come off five minutes before he scored. He's tweaked his groin when he scored," added Day.
"He got to half-time and said he'd like to keep going but then he wasn't particularly mobile and couldn't get round the pitch, so with another game next Sunday we thought we'd protect him a little bit. Luis Boa Morte got a whack on the hip which was impeding his running."
Julien Faubert, who missed Saturday's trip to Old Trafford after suffering a knock in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United, could also return against Martin O'Neill's side.
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