‘UNPLAYABLE’ CARROLL A DANGEROUS ‘WEAPON FOR WORLD CUP’

Cresswell insists striker can do a massive job for West Ham and England if he can stay injury-free

ANDY CARROLL is still rated as “unplayable” by his West Ham teammate Aaron Cresswell.

The former England striker grabbed a last-gasp equaliser against Stoke four minutes after coming off the bench on Monday in his first appearance for 102 days.

The injuryjinxed 29-yearold had been out since suffering a hairline fracture to an ankle on January 4, two days later scoring his first goals for nine months.

Cresswell said: “Everyone knows what he’s about. On his day he’s the best at what he does. He scores crucial goals. He’s unplayable. He changed the game.

“I’m delighted for him because no one wants to be injured, but he scored within five minutes of coming back.

“His hold-up play was excellent. We’ve had a few injuries over the course of the season but when you’ve Chicha (Javier Hernandez) and Lanzini running off him it’s unplayable.

“Would he be a good weapon for England to have? Of course. He’s something different. Let’s see what happens after a couple of weeks.”

The Hammers are seven points clear of the drop zone with five games to go, starting with a visit to Arsenal on Sunday.

“To get that point is massive as Stoke would have only been four points behind if they had won and we’d have been looking over our shoulders,” added Cresswell (above).

“It’s another tough game at Arsenal.

“They haven’t been in the best of form of late and there’s no reason why we can’t get a result.”

Carroll is out of contract in 2019, although the Hammers have a two-year option they can activate next year.

The £80,000a-week forward was linked with moves to the

Chinese Super

League last year and

Chelsea in

January.

MARCOS ALONSO was last night charged with violent conduct and could now be banned for Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final against Southampton. The Spaniard (right) is under investigation for his lunge on Saints striker Shane Long during Saturday’s Premier...