WEST HAM will be without skipper Matthew Upson for the visit of Burnley this afternoon, after the defender picked up a hamstring injury in training this week.

In his absence, Scott Parker will take the captain's armband.

Gianfranco Zola will welcome back Kieron Dyer back to the fold after another lengthy period on the sidelines.

“Matty is not going to be able to play, but Kieron is available,” said Zola. “I haven't decided (if he'll play) yet, but it's good that he's coming back. He's an important player and a quality player so it's good to have him back and available.

“He's available but I'm not saying he's going to play. I don't want to put pressure on him. He's been out for a long time. The other day he did very well with the reserves but that's it.

“I saw him very positive. He came back and he is bright and now he needs to train a lot because he has to be able to play at this standard for a long period. You can only get that by training every day and every week.”

Mark Noble, James Tomkins and Herita Ilunga are also available for today's game.