Is there still room for Andy Carroll at West Ham after injury?

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After several months out, Andy Carroll is now closing in on a return to action with West Ham. The target man has been hit by further complications to an ankle injury despite joining the team in pre-season training.

Now working his way back to full fitness, he has rejoined full training with his team-mates, though it remains unclear how Manuel Pellegrino may use him.

To date, Marko Arnautovic has been the first choice in attack but with injury to Andriy Yarmolenko, the return of Carroll could see Arnautovic moved out wide to make room.

However, it is yet to be seen whether Pellegrino will put his faith in the former Liverpool and Newcastle man.

To date, Carroll has played just 45 minutes of pre-season action under the Chilean, being picked against Winterthur to lead the line as he scored one and then missed a penalty.

With the Irons struggling for goals, the arrival of a direct target man such as Carroll would offer Pellegrino an alternative option which may allow him to change his team’s system more than any of the current options.