West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has confirmed that star striker Andy Carroll will miss out on the weekend's FA Cup fixture as they gear up to face Blackburn Rovers in the fifth round of the English tournament on Sunday.
The injury prone Englishman had just come back to the side after being sidelined for a month due to a hamstring injury, but just two games into his return, the 27-year-old is back on the treatment table after he injured his adductor during the 2-2 draw against Norwich City on Saturday.
The Hammers also lost Ecuadorian forward Enner Valencia during the same fixture as the 26-year-old was seen limping off Carrow Road after taking a hit to his ankle midway through the second half.
Bilic though is hopeful that Manuel Lanzini, who was out due to a thigh injury, and Winston Reid, who pulled his hamstring in December should be back in action soon. And so should Senegalese forward Diafra Sakho.
But despite a few of the players on the road to recovery, the Upton Park outfit will be without the services of James Tomkins, and with Sam Byram being cup-tied, the Croatian manager still has to make a decision on the right-back he wants to field against Rovers.
relatedNewsStory
“Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia are both out but Lanzini is back. Reidy should be alright for Sunderland”, the 47-year-old boss said in a press conference earlier today.
“Diafra Sakho is back training with us which is good. Joey O'Brien and James Tomkins are out, Sam Byram is cup-tied.
“So we have a decision to make about the right-back position. We will see today and tomorrow and then decide”, Bilic added.
The club will be hoping to have a more strengthened bench to pick from when they host Sunderland on 27th February.
