Ogbonna requires knee surgery, out for season

If West Ham United's supporters aren't already panicking, Slaven Bilic gave them reason to do so Saturday.

Speaking after West Ham's 3-1 Premier League victory at Middlesbrough, Bilic divulged Angelo Ogbonna requires knee surgery and will therefore miss the remainder of the season. The Italian centre-back played all 90 minutes of the fixture but took the pitch with an injury.

"I have to praise Angelo Ogbonna, because he has played with an injury," Bilic said. "He needs an operation on his knee to be fit long term, and it was supposed to be a couple of weeks but we asked him to play. Ogbonna will now have surgery after today's game which will rule him out until the end of the season."

Bilic's announcement comes one day after West Ham signed Jose Fonte from Southampton for a fee of £8 million, and the Portuguese centre-back will likely be called upon to fill the void left by Ogbonna, who spent the season forming a centre-back partnership with Winston Reid.

Ogbonna's season ends with 19 Premier League appearances, during which time he averaged 5.2 clearances and 1.3 tackles per game.