Hodgson on injuries, potential January signings and Olise's return

He confirmed Cheick Doucoure has snapped his Achilles tendon and said: "It could take as long as the end of the season [to heal], but of course one remains optimistic."

Doucoure's injury is "a real blow" because "in his position we don’t have as much cover as we do in some other positions".

On when Eberechi Eze could feature again, Hodgson said: "We should know more after he’s seen the surgeon again today. He saw the surgeon at the start of the week and had his ankle put in a boot because it’s a ligament problem."

Rob Holding will also be out for a month with an ankle injury, but Hodgson confirmed James Tomkins is available.

On whether he expects the club to buy players in January to help cover injuries, Hodgson said: "This is a question for Steve Parish and Doug Freedman. There is no doubt they are on my side in that respect in the sense that we do think we could do with some replacements and reinforcements in certain positions. That central midfield position becomes a priority for us."

On Michael Olise scoring in his first start this season, Hodgson said: "He was champing at the bit for quite a while before we were given the green light to give him free reign to come into the team."

He urged caution on Olise's return and said: "One thing’s for sure, we won’t become a different team and suddenly go from losing to winning games just because we’ve got one player back in the team."