Time is nearly up for Andy Carroll at West Ham, and the club will be doing no harm in allowing his contract to expire in the summer.
The crocked striker is understood to be once again heading for the treatment room at Rush Green, as we investigate the full extent of his most recent blow, and it could mean he has already played his last game in Claret and Blue.
Carroll has already missed much of the season after he underwent ankle surgery and then suffered multiple setbacks to his rehabilitation, and now there are fears that the former England international has aggravated it once again.
Should his ankle knock prove serious, there is absolutely no reason to expect the club to hand the £90,000-a-week forward a new deal or take up the option on extending his current contract, meaning his injured-laden time in East London is done and dusted in 2019.
We will have to find an alternative in the summer to add depth to Manuel Pellegrini’s attacking options with Lucas Perez out of favour, Javier Hernandez unable to regularly find the net and Marko Arnautovic seemingly destined for the exit door, but Carroll will not be missed.
Since joining on that initial loan from Liverpool, the 6-foot-3 centre-forward has made 142 appearances for the club, scoring 34 goals, but his endless string of injuries has meant the 30-year-old has sat out 143 games without even taking into account his impending absence.
