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West Ham Target Man on the Verge of Returning from Injury

By Adam Smith

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 10: Andy Carroll of West Ham United looks on during his warm up prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium on May 10, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 10: Andy Carroll of West Ham United looks on during his warm up prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium on May 10, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images) /
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West Ham have some good news coming out of the international break as Andy Carroll is ahead of schedule and back training with the first team. Carroll was believed to be out for up to six months but a November return seems more likely now.

Love him or hate him Andy Carroll seems to be effective if he makes it on the pitch, and that’s a big “IF”. Carroll brings a level of physicality and aerial presence West Ham severely lack without him in the lineup, so regardless of personal feelings toward the player he will be an asset when he returns to the first team.

Carroll and Winston Reid were both announced as long-term injured players as West Ham’s preseason camp was underway. Carrol was out with an ankle injury that required surgery after a promising showing in West Ham’s preseason match against FC Winterthur where he nabbed a goal. The injury is believed to be connected to another injury he sustained in January of 2018.

Carroll has missed a staggering 138 games since his first loan transfer from Liverpool to East London in the 2012/13 season culminating in 1120 days missed with injury. His injury-plagued time at West Ham appears to be coming to an end with his contract expiring, but if fit is there a position for him under Pellegrini?

What Carroll offers is aerial dominance at both ends of the pitch. His ability to impact the game defensively on opposition corners and setpieces is something that has been missed so far this season, especially with next man up tall guy Angelo Ogbonna unable to defend dead balls.

Offensively Carroll is a beast in the air, winning headers and bringing the ball down in dangerous areas of the pitch. He can hold up play well but this has not been shown in the past two seasons as he was often isolated up top with the entire team behind him. When he has offensive tools to work with he seems to add another dimension to his game.

When Payet was sending crosses into the box Carroll was a happy lad, either pinging them into the back of the net or pulling coverage for Michail Antonio or Diafra Sakho to sneak in behind him and put a ball in. Likewise, in his last game played, against West Brom, he showed off this multidimensional skill when played with two other forwards. Early in the second half, he blasted in a header from a benign-looking cross off the foot of Cresswell, beating Johnny Evans to the ball. In stoppage time he ran to the back post and used Chicharito as a decoy to trim in a nice cross from Arnautovic.

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By himself, Carroll offers more than Chicharito and Perez do up top. Can Pellegrini fit another striker into his squad come November? Should Perez and Hernandez take this as a call to action to start showing up when they get opportunities? Will Carroll even remain fit enough for this striker battle to happen? This news on Carroll’s injury recovery seems to have caused more questions than answers, but if he’s fit he’s in my team.