West Ham hope Carroll and Wilshere provide lift
Andy Carroll is set to play for West Ham in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Brentford on Thursday in the hope that he will be fit to return from his latest injury after the international break.
The striker, who has made just six appearances in 2018, has not played since May after a recurrence of an ankle problem forced him to have surgery.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini is hopeful that both he and Jack Wilshere could play some part against Manchester City on
Nov 24. Wilshere last played in September, having suffered a setback following an operation to correct an ankle problem.
“Andy is close to coming back,” Pellegrini said. “We are going to play a friendly game and hope that Carroll can play some minutes. In the second week of the international break, maybe Jack Wilshire will also be working with the squad.”
If Carroll and Wilshere can stay fit, a big “if ”, Pellegrini’s side would have every reason to believe they can improve on 13th place, after saving a point at Huddersfield thanks to record signing Felipe Anderson’s third goal in two matches. “We don’t want to be looking over our shoulder,” defender Aaron Cresswell said. “We want to be looking up. Why can’t we push into the top eight, top seven, top six?” To do that, they must cut out the sloppiness that riddled a dreadful first half. Defensive slackness allowed Alex Pritchard to scuff in Huddersfield’s sixth-minute opener. West Ham were much better after Pellegrini sent on a second striker in Javier Hernandez at halftime and were worthy of their point. Huddersfield have hit the bar or posts 10 times in the Premier League this season but scored only six goals. Their poor finishing is the main reason they are next to bottom of the table.