West Ham United were unable to build upon their 2-0 win over Newcastle last weekend as they suffered the same result at the hands of Cardiff on Saturday.
Irons boss Manuel Pellegrini has explained why striker Andy Carroll was absent for the fixture, instead opting for Javier Hernandez to lead the line, with Marko Arnautovic coming on in the second half.
The manager has explained that Carroll was not considered due to suffering yet another problem with his ankle, an injury that has dogged him for a while now and kept him on the sidelines for the majority of this season.
“Andy was not considered for this game. He has some problem in his ankle, so he was not in the squad,” Pellegrini said in his post-match press conference, as quoted by Claret and Hugh.
OPINION
What a surprise – Andy Carroll is injured once again. How many times will this player be sidelined? West Ham fans are no doubt losing count of the amount of times he has suffered problems with his ankle, and they are no doubt starting to lose patience with the forward. However, this recent set back is actually great news for West Ham – seeing as Carroll’s contract runs out in the summer, he has given them even more of an excuse not to trigger an extension on it. Why would they? They no doubt want his injury-stricken days firmly behind them once and for all, and this is the perfect opportunity. Carroll no doubt knows that his West Ham future is hanging by a thread at the moment and he may have an idea that the possibility of playing for the Irons many more times is unlikely. To be honest though, Carroll being injured means that Pellegrini does not have to consider him to be in match day squads.