West Ham Injury Update heading towards Bolton match

Everyone seems to be having their say about the Hammers at the moment and the injured players are getting just as many comments as those who are fully fit.

It’s been well reported in the media and on other websites how Stan Collymore, Tony Cottee. Paul Ince and even Sam have all chipped in over the current goings on at the London Stadium; but that’s just part of football.

The game is all about opinions and that's what makes it so popular to discuss, argue about and occasionally fall out over!

Now Alan Pardew has had his say on how best to manage Andy Carroll. The former Hammers manager talked a lot of sense on Sky Sports last week when he said that Andy shouldn't be training all week and should save himself for the games instead.

Perhaps not surprisingly in the light of recent criticism, Slaven Bilić responded emphatically; pointing out that in Andy's case he is well aware that he needs to manage his big striker in a different way to the rest of the players.

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Citing that it's all about taking the right approach, Slaven acknowledged that he wouldn't get the best out of Andy Carroll if he made him train all day every day, and that hopefully in the coming months they will be playing to Andy's strengths.

Slaven was clear however, that in his opinion as the manager working with Andy on a daily basis that the big guy needs to train; perhaps not as intensively as the others but still to a level that allows him to maintain the standard of fitness required for a Premier League player.

For as long as I can remember it's been a common topic in Hammers forums how Andy's appearances have been restricted by injuries - or one single recurrent injury to be more specific.

But hopefully after West Ham's Sports Medicine supremo Gary Lewin hit the nail on the head last week when he said that Andy is his own worst enemy, that will change.

From Slaven’s angle there's no doubt that when things are going wrong you want players on the field who are prepared to make that extra challenge or take a few knocks if it helps the team; but that doesn't mean their sole contribution is to take a battering from the opposing team in every game.

In Andy's case though, that tends to be the way it is. People often forget that he's not just there to win the free-kicks; he’s there to lead the attack, and to use his experience to win the ball in forward areas; get into the penalty box and look for scoring chances.

Having struggled with injury for such a long time; it would be unrealistic to expect him to charge up and down the field as if he was a teenager.

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The point Alan Pardew was making is that in his role as the main striker, there will be times when the opportunity will arise for a bit of rest and recovery during the games.

When the ball is at the other end of the field he can then seize the opportunity to get a quick breather; provided of course that Slaven is happy enough to leave him to hover around the halfway line.

That, of course, depends on how the game is going at the time. If Andy needs to chase back to help out in the defensive area, then chase back he must.

In fairness to Alan Pardew I don't think that he was trying to be clever or interfere. He was merely making the point that different players have different training needs. As we all know, Andy's biggest strength lies in his physical presence.

He doesn't set out to intimate people in the way some players do but the mere fact that he's big and strong lends itself to playing a more physical game and it's fair to say that he does use his strength wisely.

Andy Carroll doesn't throw his weight around as such but he knows how to make the best use of it.

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Slaven's right when he says Andy needs to train, and provided that the training is tailored to getting the most out of the time available, then that's the way to go.

It needs to be said though that whilst football is all about opinions, managers don’t like outsiders telling them how to do their job.

It was no real surprise that Slaven made it clear he’s already taking that approach up to a certain extent; and we’ll find out in due course whether Andy will be involved in the midweek League Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers.

Andy lasted until the final stages of the West Brom match before being replaced by Diafra Sakho.

As far as the other injured players are concerned, we know Manuel Lanzini won't be included for the Bolton match and there should be an update on the Argentinean striker shortly.

Both Mark Noble (knee) and Edimilson Fernandez (ankle / foot) are reported to have made some progress with their respective injuries so they will continue to train and any adverse reactions over the weekend will be monitored and addressed accordingly.

For sure Chicharito will be nursing a sore ankle this morning after the challenge from Albion’s goalkeeper Ben Foster; and James Collins is likely to be out of action for some time following an ankle ligament injury sustained at the Hawthorns.

James will be assessed again during the next 24 - 48 hours and the picture will be clearer then. If there are any doubts or unreported injuries before Monday’s training, these will also have surfaced at the Sunday recovery session.

As always, we’ll find out exactly who is likely to be involved against Bolton when the squad is announced after Monday’s training.