Since Andy Carroll’s move to West Ham United in 2013 I think it’s fair to say his potential has been very much short-lived, for one reason, injuries.
Despite signing in June for a fee of £15 million, Carroll had to wait until January before he played his first game of the season after picking up an injury at the end of the previous campaign. He ended the season with just 2 goals from 18 appearances.
Andy Carroll entered the 2014-15 season in familiar fashion to the last, injured.
During a pre-season tour of New Zealand, Carroll sustained an ankle ligament injury which prevented him from appearing during West Ham’s first eleven Premier League matches. He then returned to the side on the 8th November.
Between the month of December and January, Carroll managed to notch up five goals in eight league appearances and was beginning to show the Upton Park faithful that he was worth the fee paid for him.
Just a month later, in February 2015, the Geordie striker sustained yet another setback, a tear in his medial ligament that unfortunately ruled him out for the rest of the season.
He returned to first team duties on the 14 September against former club Newcastle United and the following month scored his first goal in nine months. Crazy right?
Carroll then followed up his first goal in nine months by going several games without a goal and was marred by injury whilst training for West Ham’s fixture against Swansea City.
To add to the long list of the Hammers’ striker’s injuries, Carroll has just received news that he’ll face a further month on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury in a recent fixture.
So, within the 3 year period Carroll has been at the club his long list of injuries have kept him out the side for a number of weeks and it seems that every time the attacker returns, he’s never able to get back to full fitness. Such a shame for a player who had so much potential. The question is, should David Gold put him on the transfer list?
Again, due to all these setbacks, the Hammers striker has never really been able to hit top form. Is it worth keeping such an injury-prone player?