Hammer Blow

Andy Carroll injury: West Ham suffer blow as star striker fears he will be on sidelines until Halloween

Forward injured in Europa League clash in August and leaves Slaven Bilic sweating with Andre Ayew and Diafra Sakho out

Neil Ashton

Published: 21:49, 20 Sep 2016
Updated: 13:33, 21 Sep 2016

Andy Carroll fears he will be out injured until Halloween

ANDY CARROLL fears he will be out until the end of October with his knee injury.

The West Ham striker was crocked during the Europa League tie at Astra Giurgiu in August.

Andy Carroll fears he will be out injured until Halloween — Andy Carroll fears he will be out injured until HalloweenCredit: Getty Images

Carroll has been out injured since August — Carroll has been out injured since AugustCredit: Reuters

Carroll initially thought he would miss the first six weeks of the season.

But West Ham have been forced to put the 27-year-old’s return on hold.

Hammers, who are also without Andre Ayew, Aaron Cresswell and Diafra Sakho, have picked up just three points so far.

They host League Two Accrington tonight in the EFL Cup third round.

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Slaven Bilic plots West Ham revival after the Hammers' poor start to the Premier League season

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Slaven Bilic plots West Ham revival after the Hammers' poor start to the Premier League season

Carroll thought hed only be out for six weeks max — Carroll thought he'd only be out for six weeks maxCredit: Reuters

Slaven Bilic will be hoping his main man in attack is back soon — Slaven Bilic will be hoping his main man in attack is back soonCredit: Reuters

But boss Slaven Bilic will not vent his frustration as he fears it will make matters worse.

He said: “The worse thing that can happen in football is to lose confidence. Ours is harmed a bit because of the results and the position we are in. But you can’t afford to lose it.

“If you lose your confidence as an individual and as a team, then you’ve got no chance. It’s got to be a balance. You have to criticise because it’s not good. You have to point fingers but there has to be a mix between the two of them.

“It was a bit harder when I was a player. Back home in Yugoslavia, it was very old fashioned. It is like that in school now.

“Everything’s changed. Before the teacher could give you a little slap, now you can’t do it. It all changed, not only football.”

West Ham are hoping to see Reece Oxford sign a new deal — West Ham are hoping to see Reece Oxford sign a new dealCredit: PA:Press Association

The youngster is stalling on his future at the London Stadium — The youngster is stalling on his future at the London StadiumCredit: PA:Press Association

Bilic is set to ring the changes for tonight’s game and could hand a shock recall to Reece Oxford, who is stalling on signing a new contract.

But the boss is confident a deal with the highly-rated 17-year-old defender will be done soon.

He added: “I think it would be best for him to stay. There are a few examples of players who had great careers who started at West Ham — Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Jermain Defoe, Michael Carrick etc.

“I know his representatives are talking to the club and hopefully it will be sorted soon, in a good way.”

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