Lee Bowyer has delayed undergoing an operation on his shoulder in the hope of playing a part in the final run-in to the Hammers' season.
Lee dislocated his shoulder at Reading on New Year's Day but an operation to repair the problem conclusively would have put him out of action for the rest of the campaign - and the 30-year-old midfielder has opted to play on.
"I was given the option to have an operation on my shoulder after dislocating it in the game at Reading," he says. "But it would have ruled me out for the season, and I just couldn't face that possibility."
After missing the final weeks of the ill-fated 2002/3 campaign with an Achilles injury in his previous spell at the club, Lee was determined to avoid a repeat of the scenario that saw him sidelined while the Hammers fought an ultimately unsuccessful battle against relegation from the Premiership.
"After what I went through here four years ago, it's even more frustrating to see what is happening now," he said. "I just couldn't go through that again, so I'm just hoping that I can stay fit for the rest of the season.
"I'm desperate to play any part I can, and hopefully that will start on Sunday. We are obviously in a very difficult position at the moment, but there is no way we can just give up and throw the towel in.
"However bad things are, there are still 30 points to play for, and we just have to keep going in the hope we can turn it around.
"I'm a fan of this club and I can see what the
supporters are going through. Everyone here has got to fight and do
everything we possibly can to survive, because it's not over
yet."