LONDON (AP) -Fulham expects goalkeeper Antti Niemi to be back in action within weeks after an MRI scan showed the Finnish goalkeeper suffered no spinal damage.
Niemi was taken to hospital after landing awkwardly on his head in Fulham's 0-0 draw with Watford on Monday.
"Having seen the incident on TV, I can see that it looked very bad but fortunately it looked a lot worse than it was," Niemi said Wednesday. "However, I consider myself very lucky as the outcome could have been much worse."
The 34-year-old was released from hospital on Monday, and scans revealed he suffered "irritation to the related soft tissues in his neck."
Niemi played in all 20 games for the 12th-placed Cottagers this season. He arrived at Craven Cottage from League Championship side Southampton in January 2006.
---
LONDON (AP) - West Ham "played like a bunch of drunks" in its 6-0 loss to Reading, midfielder Yossi Benayoun said on Wednesday.
"I am ashamed. I am shocked at the way we played," Benayoun told The Sun newspaper. "If we keep on playing like this, we will definitely be relegated. The situation is very bad. I felt like crying."
The 26-year-old Israel midfielder called the Hammers next league match against Fulham on Jan. 13 "the most important of the season."
After beating Manchester United 1-0 in manager Alan Curbishley's debut on Dec. 17, West Ham has drawn one and lost three straight to remain in 18th and in the relegation zone.
The Hammers won promotion from the League Championship in 2005 and subsequently qualified for the UEFA Cup by reaching the FA Cup final, and finished ninth in the table in its first season back in England's top flight since 2003.
"Let's be serious, this isn't the team that played last year, so it's just nonsense to carry on comparing the two seasons," Curbishley said. "There was a lots of hunger and commitment to be in the Premier League and have everything that goes with it.
"We haven't got any of that now, though, and we're not playing with anything like the same confidence."
