David Silva has been taken to hospital as Manchester City fear he
suffered a fractured cheekbone or collarbone in their 2-0 win over West
Ham.
The Spaniard was stretchered off after a seven-minute delay after he was caught by the elbow of Cheikhou Kouyate.
The Hammers midfielder was booked but his manager, Sam Allardyce,
insisted it was purely an accidental collision and claimed it was not
even a foul.
And City manager Manuel Pellegrini said he did not believe Kouyate set out to injure Silva.
"It looked serious but we must wait to see what happens at the
hospital [where they will] check his cheekbone," Pellegrini said in a
news conference.
Pellegrini was unsure if Silva had been knocked unconscious but
preferred not to blame Kouyate, adding: "I always think that a player
doesn't want to damage another player. The referee was so near and he
decided he was unintentional. Nothing more happens."
Allardyce defended the Senegalese, saying: "It was accidental. It was
innocuous. I didn't think it was a foul. I just had a look now.
Everybody thinks it is more serious attack from Cheikhou than it was. It
wasn't deliberate at all."
The West Ham manager is yet to talk to the former Anderlecht player
about it, adding: "No. Why? He has no idea, it has happened from behind
him. I have seen the reaction from the video on the laptop."
