Ayew, who joined West Ham from Swansea for a club record fee of £20.5m last month, was withdrawn 35 minutes into his Hammers' debut against Chelsea after pulling up with a thigh problem while attempting to track back.

West Ham say it's too early to put a time frame on his return to first team action, but he won't need an operation and a ball will soon be introduced to his rehabilitation sessions.

The decision to let Ayew travel to France for treatment was made so that he could be closer to home while Marseille, where he has been spending 25 per cent of his time, also have equipment to benefit his recovery.

The Hammers have struggled in Ayew's absence and currently sit third bottom of the Premier League after four defeats in their opening five games.

The have conceded 11 goals in their last three league games and needed a 96th-minute winner from Dimitri Payet to scrape past Accrington Stanley in the EFL Cup third round on Wednesday evening.