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Soccer-West Ham's Ayew facing lengthy spell on the sidelines

Aug 17 (Reuters) - Winger Andre Ayew is facing a "significant" period on the sidelines after injuring his right thigh during his West Ham United debut, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. Ayew limped off with a thigh problem 30 minutes into Monday's 2-1 loss to London rivals Chelsea and although the club have not put a time frame on his injury, British media reported the 26-year-old will be out for up to four months. The Ghana international joined for a club record fee of 20.5 million pounds ($26.71 million) from Swansea City earlier this month. "Andre Ayew injured his right thigh at Chelsea on Monday and underwent a scan on Wednesday afternoon," Stijn Vandenbroucke, the club's head of medical and sports science, said on their website (www.whufc.com). "He has suffered a significant injury and it is imperative that we do not rush to conclusions and we receive the correct diagnosis by consulting top specialists. "At this time, it is too early to put a time frame on his potential return date but Andre is facing a significant rehabilitation period." West Ham, who finished seventh last season, will want to win their first ever league game at the Olympic Stadium when they host Bournemouth at their new home on Sunday. ($1 = 0.7675 pounds) (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rex Gowar)