West Ham manager Slaven Bilic says he will not give up on striker Andy Carroll despite the 27 year old’s ongoing problems with injuries.
The forward again missed out with a hip injury against Burnley yesterday, but talking about speculation that the former Liverpool player could leave the London stadium in the summer, the Hammers boss says he is not considering the possibility due to the target man’s importance to the team. He is quoted by the Daily Mail as saying:
“If you want me to tell you ‘enough is enough’ I’m not going to say it, I’m not going to give up. First of all he has a contract with us. Secondly the impact which he is having in every game, whether he started or he comes from the bench, is big. It’s massive. You can see that also this season – when he played we won six out of nine.”
Carroll has missed half of West Ham’s games this season. Due to knee/groin/hip problems, he has missed 23 of the Hammers 46 matchess in all competitions, playing 22 and remaining on the bench for one other.
His impact on the Hammers’ team is undoubted though. In his 22 appearances, he has scored seven goals and provided two assists, helping West Ham to eight wins.
It is likely however that manager Slaven Bilic will look to strengthen the forward line in the summer so as to ensure the team can cope in the likelihood of Carroll’s absence through injury next campaign.
