West Ham have been rocked by the news that skipper Lucas Neill has been ruled out for a month. Neil has suffered a knee injury in training and looks set to miss the rest of August. He is the latest of a series of injuries that West Ham have suffered to new signings. Neill himself was laid low by a an ankle ligament injury last season while the likes of Upson and more recently, Scott Parker have also been hit by the apparent curse hanging over Upton Park. Jonathan Spector is now likely to fill the right-back role against City at the weekend and in Neill’s absence over the coming weeks.