Scott Parker turned in a man-of-the-match performance to help haul West Ham United off the foot of the Premier League, despite being unable to walk 24 hours earlier.Avram Grant, the manager, revealed he had been resigned to being without the inspirational midfielder for yesterday's win over Liverpool after Parker was injured in a fall at the end of training.
But intense treatment from the club's medical staff, including a painkilling injection, allowed Parker to take to the field at Upton Park. And the 30-year-old opened the scoring with a brilliant goal to set West Ham on their way.
"Scott is a special guy. The spirit he showed was great," Grant said.
"Three hours before the game, we thought there was no way he would play. It was a bad, bad injury. He couldn't walk or move his arms. The medical department were sure he couldn't play, but they did a good job."
Parker played down his injury and his reaction to it, saying: "It was just a little bit of a knock. Anybody else would have done exactly the same."
Demba Ba made it 2-0 just before half time, but a Glen Johnson strike with six minutes left made for a nervy ending until West Ham's Carlton Cole sealed the win.
"We never passed it as well as we can or took the opportunities that came our way," Kenny Dalglish, the Liverpool manager, said.
* Press Association
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