Thursday 20 August 2015 23:44, UK
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has issued a statement via his son’s Twitter account stating his comments on QPR striker Charlie Austin were taken "out of context".
Sullivan angered Austin by appearing to question his long-term fitness after he failed a medical at Hull two years ago.
Austin responded by insisting there is no way he could have scored 18 goals in the Premier League last season if he was struggling with injury.
Sullivan has now moved to ease the situation after posting a statement on his son Jack's Twitter account.
"He is a player I greatly admire. However, he failed a medical at Hull two years ago," the statement read.
"Clearly an old injury left a severe doubt with the Hull medical team about the longevity of his career.
"I fully accept he is playing very well and the old injury is not impacting upon him at this moment in time."
Sullivan also said different medical officials may take varying views on the condition of Austin's knee.
"I was simply saying at West Ham United we've been very unlucky with injuries to strikers, going right back to Dean Ashton," he added.
"Three of our main four strikers are injured at this moment in time. So for us, with our limited budget, our bad luck over injured strikers and the fact he failed a medical at Hull would be a risk we couldn't take.
"However, I'm sure many other clubs would take a different view and I hope he plays on until he's 37 or 38 as he's clearly a super professional and a great player."
