London Premiership club West Ham was dealt a devastating blow Tuesday with the news that Scottish footballer Don Hutchinson will be out of action for up to 10 months with a serious knee ligament injury. The 30-year-old midfielder was carried off during Saturday's West Ham 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough and a scan revealed a rupture to his cruciate ligaments.

West Ham manager Glenn Roeder has also lost club captain Steve Lomas for up to one month after he injured knee ligaments in the Middlesbrough match too.

But the bigger blow is the loss of Hutchinson, who signed in September from Sunderland for $7.5 million.

The injury will also affect new Scotland manager Berti Vogts, who will be without Hutchinson for the opening games of the 2004 European championship qualifying competition.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

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