West Ham front-man and England international Andy Carroll has been ruled out for the rest of the season. It comes after the striker requires surgery on his left knee, keeping him out of action until the summer. Carroll picked up the knock whilst playing in a midweek league fixture against Southampton, where it is later revealed that he had suffered medial ligament damage in his left leg. The gaffer has spoken out on the news, and described it as ‘a big blow that we have to cope with’.
It is indeed a huge injury blow to Sam Allardyce, having already limited options in the striking areas following Mauro Zarate leaving on loan, and the failure to sign Emmanuel Adebayor in the January transfer window. Since returning to the first team following his previous long-term ankle injury, Carroll scored five goals for us, so he did have a positive impact when he came back.
However, his absence now leaves The Hammers with a serious lack of aerial threat when set pieces are pumped into the penalty area, and his sheer physicality and power on the ball will now be amiss. His chemistry with the likes of Kevin Nolan and Stewart Downing is also a highlight of some of our gameplay, and it was evident that they missed Carroll’s strengths during the thrashing in the FA Cup tie against West Brom.
The striker, who West Ham paid £15 million for, is no stranger to suffering from injury problems throughout his career. Since making the move from Merseyside, he has struggled to keep a consistent run of games going for the team, which has led to many of the home faithful questioning the signing of Andy Carroll altogether. The manager has been patient with him, and there is no doubt that the Newcastle-born player has talent, having been capped nine times for The Three Lions.
On the contrary though, there is a case in point that the money could have been spent better, especially considering the low fees paid for clinical goal-scorers such as Diafra Sakho. The impact of the injury now increases the burden on both his and Enner Valencia’s shoulders, whilst Carlton Cole may now have to take more responsibility for the team.
Whether or not the board will start to consider signing a replacement, it is difficult to see Andy Carroll being sold. His injury prone status will not be particularly attractive to many clubs around the country, making it tough to get a decent amount of money for him. Carroll has suffered knee, ankle and hamstring problems in the past couple of years.
There has been talk though linking him with a possible move back to Tyneside, with perhaps Papiss Cisse moving in the opposite direction. The Irons have also been linked with Connor Wickham at Sunderland, and Islam Slimani at Sporting Lisbon, who Big Sam admitted he has tried to sign previously. Some would argue that maybe it is time to give the youth an opportunity, as we have seen what the likes of Harry Kane can do when given a chance, and Elliot Lee is a quality young prospect in the academy.
