West Ham United boss Gianfranco Zola admits a fit-again Carlton Cole is vital to their survival prospects.

Cole has been stepping up his recovery programme, and has been out on the Chadwell Heath pitches in recent days.

"His recovery is vital," Zola told whufc.com, with Guillermo Franco suffering a muscle injury in training that looks set to keep him out for the next couple of matches. "He is such an important player, not only in terms of goals and what he gives to the team, but it would be a big boost for the others. I look forward to seeing him playing soon with us."

"They're talking about towards the end of the month but we'll see. We're not putting pressure on him. We want him, when he comes back, to be fit for the whole season and for the World Cup, hopefully."