West Ham United captain Mark Noble has hit out at those who criticise striker Andy Carroll.
The forward has suffered yet another season-ending injury after undergoing surgery earlier this week.
Carroll’s West Ham contract expires this summer and the club have shown no indication that they intend to extend his stay at the London Stadium.
In his column on the Evening Standard, Noble said:
The thing about Andy is that when he plays, he gives it 100 per cent but, if he is not fully fit, he can put himself in danger. It’s horrible when I see some of the comments about him.
It’s not his fault he is injured. He’s such a big lad and his body just hasn’t allowed him to cope with the demands of playing regularly and that has severely limited his playing time. The thing in football is that you are always expected to be a macho man — “I’m, all right, there’s no problem”, that sort of thing.
But the one thing you want to do is go out with the lads and play football. I’ve been really lucky, I’ve trained and played week in and week out but the odd times I’ve been injured I really missed going into training, having some banter with the lads.
Noble has once again been a key figure in midfield for the Hammers this season alongside youngster Declan Rice.
