Ollie Scarles could be facing longer on the sidelines than expected for West Ham after undergoing surgery on his shoulder.

In a cruel blow for the young midfielder, Scarles dislocated his shoulder against Leeds United on 24 October just after breaking into the side.

While Nuno Espirito Santo’s positioning of Scarles raised eyebrows, it was clear the 19-year-old was about to have a run in the side.

However, West Ham gem Scarles underwent surgery last week that was confirmed to be keeping him out until December at the earliest.

That timeframe may be a little generous, though, with Scarles potentially not being back on the field until 2026.

Ollie Scarles could be looking at three-month return timeline

Scarles was on the outside looking in at West Ham not so long ago, but that changed once Nuno put some faith in him.

This layoff has come at a really bad time, then, with the youngster now having to initially recover from the surgery before working his way back to fitness.

And according to injury expert Dr Rajpal Brar, speaking exclusively to West Ham Zone, Scarles could be looking at up to three months out from the time of the surgery last week.

“He underwent surgery for the dislocation, which likely means there was high grade damage and/or instability to at least one of the shoulder ligaments,” Brar said.

“Depending on full specifics, he’s likely looking at two to three month return timeline. There is a higher incidence of recurrence, but that is part and parcel after any injury.”

The last thing West Ham will want to do is rush Scarles back, and the good news is that there is at least a two-week break coming up with no fixtures to be played.

The West Ham games Ollie Scarles could miss after latest update

Should the worst-case scenario be true and Scarles misses three months, that would see him return around February 28.

West Ham have 17 games to come in the Premier League between now and then, while the FA Cup also gets up and running for the Hammers in January.

Ollie Scarles was just finding his feet for West Ham

Among those games are trips to Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea, while Liverpool and Man United are among the visitors to the London Stadium.

Basically, it is a huge chunk of the season the academy product could miss. On a more positive note, though, he could be back early-ish in 2026, which will of course what every fan has their fingers crossed for.

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