New injury worry for former star

WEST Ham striker Andy Carroll has an ankle injury and faces a possible lengthy absence, it is believed,

Former Toon star Carroll has been linked with a move to Premier League champions Chelsea, but now any move in January appears to be unlikely after a scan revealed the severity of the injury on Thursday.

Surgery is among the options being considered and, if 29-year-old Carroll underwent an operation he would be out for months, rather than weeks.

Hammers boss David Moyes is likely to address the matter in his media conference today ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash at home to Bournemouth.

Carroll has not played since January 4 against Tottenham.

Meanwhile, David Wagner has dismissed reports linking Huddersfield with moves to sign Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic and Chievo midfielder Samuel Bastien.

Huddersfield have signed Monaco centre-half Terence Kongolo on loan until the end of the season and paid Norwich an undisclosed fee for midfielder Alex Pritchard during January.

The Terriers have been reported to have lined up further deals for both Subotic and Bastien, but manager Wagner confirmed his business was complete.

The former Dortmund reserve team boss said: “I know Neven very well. He’s a great guy, very good character and a very good player as well, but as everyone knows on the centre-back position we have no pressure, no problems.

“We’ve done our business. I’m not in the market. Even if I have my eye on the market I’m very happy with the players we have.

“Of course, something can change in the next two or three weeks, but if everything goes by plan we’ve done what we wanted to do and I’m very happy.”

The Terriers will bid for their first Premier League win in six matches tomorrow at Stoke, for whom new boss Paul Lambert will take charge of his first game since replacing Mark Hughes on Monday.

It is another crucial match-up for Town against a potential relegation rival and a manager Wagner knows all about. Lambert spent just over a year as a player at Dortmund, helping them win the Champions League in 1997, and Wagner is full of admiration for what the former Scotland international achieved.

“Listen, if you follow Borussia Dortmund, you know Paul Lambert,” Wagner said. “He was an outstanding midfielder, a working midfielder.”