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David Silva of Manchester City to hospital after elbow from Kouyate

David Silva was taken to hospital as Manchester City fear he suffered a fractured cheekbone or collarbone in their 2-0 win over West Ham.

The Spaniard was stretchered off after a seven-minute delay after he was caught by the elbow of Cheikhou Kouyate.

The Hammers midfielder was booked but his manager, Sam Allardyce, insisted it was purely an accidental collision and claimed it was not even a foul.

Hours later, Silva tweeted that he'd been released from the hospital, thanked supporters and stressed that City's three points were what mattered most.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini said he did not believe Kouyate set out to injure Silva.

"It looked serious but we must wait to see what happens at the hospital [where they will] check his cheekbone," Pellegrini said in a news conference.

Pellegrini was unsure if Silva had been knocked unconscious but preferred not to blame Kouyate, adding: "I always think that a player doesn't want to damage another player. The referee was so near and he decided he was unintentional. Nothing more happens."

Allardyce defended the Senegalese, saying: "It was accidental. It was innocuous. I didn't think it was a foul. I just had a look now. Everybody thinks it is more serious attack from Cheikhou than it was. It wasn't deliberate at all."

The West Ham manager is yet to talk to the former Anderlecht player about it, adding: "No. Why? He has no idea, it has happened from behind him. I have seen the reaction from the video on the laptop."

Pellegrini, meanwhile, claimed he had nothing to say about an interview in which Yaya Toure's agent was heavily critical of both him and the club, claiming the midfielder had been made a scapegoat for City's problems this season.