QPR striker Charlie Austin has labelled comments from West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan about his fitness as an 'outrageous slur' and has insisted he has no injury problems.
Austin has been strongly linked with a £15million move away from Loftus Road in recent months after QPR suffered relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season, with West Ham thought to be among several clubs interested in the 26-year-old.
But Hammers co-chairman Sullivan said on Thursday the east London side could not take a gamble by paying such a fee to sign Austin this summer, and questioned the striker's fitness and goalscoring record in the Premier League last season.
"Firstly, we haven't got £15m to spend under the Fair Play rules. Secondly, he [Austin] failed a medical at Hull a couple of years ago. They say he has no ligaments in his knee, who knows? To sign a £15m is a big risk," he said.
"He could go on for years, but knowing our luck his knee will go in his first game and that's the end of it.
"He didn't keep Queens Park Rangers up. If he'd kept them up single-handedly you might say it was different - and a few of those goals were penalties.
"16 goals is still very good, but when we played Queens Park Rangers last year they had to win to stand any chance of staying up - and he wasn't very good [that day]."
However, Austin has now responded to Sullivan's comments in a statement released on his official Twitter account, calling the claims "inaccurate, misleading and uninformed" while insisting he is fully fit.
"I feel I have no option but to address the inaccurate, misleading and uninformed innuendo about my phsical condition that has been raised today by an individual who is not privy to my personal health history," he wrote.
"It is one of a number of inaccurate reports about my so-called injury problems which have been made over the summer.
"For the record, there is nothing wrong with my 'ligaments', as has been suggested. My strength and performance in pre-season has been excellent and with two goals in my last two games I don't think there is any doubt that my match sharpness is as good as ever.
"I scored 18 goals in the Premier League last season, which would not be possible were I feeling discomfort or pain."
He added: "Like many professional footballers, I have the legacy of injuries picked up over my career but the effect on my day-to-day training and on match-day is non-existent.
"For a senior figure at a Premier League club to insinuate that I could break down at any moment is an outrageous slur on my professionalism and the work that has gone into making me the footballer that I am today.
"I am fit, strong and looking forward to Saturday's home game against Rotherham."
http://pic.twitter.com/Rlc8fUwFCd
— Charlie Austin (@chazaustin9) August 20, 2015
ArticleAustin labels West Ham chief's injury comments as 'outrageous slur'West Ham UnitedWest HamCharlie AustinDavid SullivanQueens Park RangersPremier LeagueQPR
Charlie Austin labels West Ham chief David Sullivan's injury comments as 'outrageous slur'Slaven Bilic: I will not accept the lack of aggression, confidence and drive West Ham showed against Leicester CityCharlie Austin is not worth £15m, he didn’t even keep QPR up - West Ham chief David SullivanQPR boss Chris Ramsey hopes to keep hold of in-demand Charlie Austin and Matt PhillipsPublishedImageMedium widthThursday, August 20, 2015 - 18:02Response: Charlie Austin released a statement addressing David Sullivan's comments on TwitterOnSource: http://ift.tt/1gZIhoN
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