West Ham are preparing to face Huddersfield on Saturday, but Manuel Pellegrini will be without Andy Carroll, the boss has confirmed.
The former England international is once again sidelined with an ankle injury, and the club are yet to know the full extent of his latest blow, making the chances of his future continuing in Stratford even more unlikely.
“We continue [to be] without the players with long injuries,” Pellegrini said.
“They continue to recover. We have also [lost] Andy Carroll, who has a problem with his ankle. We need to wait for some medical examination, and then after that we will know. The rest of the squad is okay.”
The brighter news to come from Pellegrini’s update, for those who want him to start, is that Marko Arnautovic is in contention to face the Terriers, having shown no signs of an injury following the Cardiff clash.
The illness that kept the Austrian out of action when we traveled to Manchester City has also not returned, which is ideal given Javier Hernandez’s further decline in form shown in South Wales.
Those wishing to see our second top goalscorer start at the London Stadium will also be pleased to hear that Pellegrini feels he is finally over the mental fatigue that his failed switch to China left behind.
“Marko was out of the team for several reasons,” the boss added. “First, because his mind was out when he had the option to go to China. Then he returned and didn’t work for about a week, so he needed time to recover his performance.
“After that, he was sick. He was going to start against Manchester City but he felt bad that day. There’s a lot of reasons why he was starting on the bench, but I think he is ready to return in his position.”
When the manager’s update was shared on the R/Hammers Reddit page, here’s what the fanbase had to say:
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