Friday, 31st October, 2014
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has insisted that he looking forward to having Andy Carroll back in his side.
The striker is yet to feature for the Hammers in the current campaign after tearing his ankle ligaments during the club’s pre-season tour of New Zealand.
However, Carroll has returned to training, following successful ankle surgery in July.
And Allardyce, who explained that the former Liverpool man is close to resuming first team action, has backed Carroll to make a significant contribution once he returns.
"Of course [I am looking forward to his return], he's been out for a long time”, the manager told his club’s official site.
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“As a manager you want as many players to be fit as possible and Andy can make a very important contribution.
“Competition for places is always a good thing because it drives standards up."
But Allardyce confirmed that Carroll will not be rushed back into action as he revealed his plan of slowly introducing the forward back to first team duty.
"Yes it'll take a while. This is his pre-season now really because he missed out”, he added.
“We'll take it game by game and see how he feels. Hopefully by game three or four of his recovery he'll be able to play a full 90 minutes."
Carroll, whose progress at Upton Park has been seriously hampered by injuries, has thus far made 40 appearances in all competitions for West Ham, scoring nine times and providing nine assists.
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