Alex Song has ice pack after West Ham draw with Manchester United

Fear not West Ham fans - Alex Song is not about to undergo a double operation on his right and left knees.

The midfielder was spotted with large icepacks strapped to both knees as he warmed down on the pitch in the wake of West Ham’s draw with Manchester United.

Ice packs are commonly used by players after matches - even when they are not injured - to reduce inflammation immediately from the stresses of the game.

When tissue around the knees is swollen, from the strain of a match, using ice straight away helps to ease pain and heal quicker.

Players keep them on for up to 20 minutes after playing a strenuous match in order to maximise their recovery time.

In the past year, Manchester United’s Radamel Falcao, Vincent Kompany at Manchester City and Cristiano Ronaldo during the World Cup with Portugal all used ice packs on their knees to help aid recovery from injuries.

Given the ground Alex Song covers in the heart of midfield for West Ham, he uses packs on both knees regularly after playing to avoid doing any long-term damage.

West Ham also use ice chambers which cover a players’ body entirely in liquid nitrogen at minus 140C to help recovery in between games, known as cryotherapy treatment.

Allardyce tries to use the latest sports-science technology to get the most out of his squad, which he feels is stretched to its limit.

Mark Leather, Bolton’s head of performance and medicine and former Liverpool head physio, said: ‘I imagine Alex Song may have a particular preference or need to cool the knees down.

‘It may be a previous injury history or it could be that his knees ache after games. The ice stops it being uncomfortable and reduces pain.

‘The ice helps reduce blood flow to the area it covers, stopping the swelling, and the pain relief comes from the numbing effect of the ice.

‘Song was using crushed ice in plastic bags, strapped to his legs using cling film. It is one of the best ways to cool an area by the side of the pitch.

‘Later on, players get more advanced treatment using Game Ready equipment or what’s called a CryoCuff.’

The West Ham manager was forced to name two youth players - Reece Oxford, 16, and Elliot Lee, 20 - on his bench for the Manchester United game and fears that lack of squad depth could stop them finishing in the top four this season.

‘That will be very difficult for us,’ Allardyce said after the match. ‘I always thought it would be. When you see the strength and depth of Manchester United and the fact they can bring Marouane Fellaini on and we've got some young kids on the bench.

‘We get the maximum out of the strength and depth of our squad but it’s probably not quite big enough to take you into the Champions League. But we’ll keep trying.’