Andy Carroll has revealed that he’s starting to tire of the constant ribbing he receives from all and sundry about his infamously well-furnished injury record.
After undergoing ankle surgery back in July, Carroll made his first appearance of the season in West Ham’s 3-1 home win over Cardiff City on 4th December.
Aged 29, the battering ram forward is now once again hoping to have turned a corner, though he admits that the constant ‘crock’ jibes he receives from everybody, everywhere aren’t exactly helping.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Carroll got the following of his chest:
I honestly don’t know what I’ve done in my life to get the sh*t I get. It’s unbelievable. I get some stick for everything I do. It’s annoying.
It’s stupid things, like I went to Lapland UK. I’m standing there with the kids. Someone skates over, ‘Lovely to meet you… don’t be getting on the ice, I don’t want you falling over and getting injured’.
Everywhere I go it’s the same bullsh*t!
A lot of people just think, “Oh, Andy’s injured again? He’s all right, he’s on holiday,” or whatever.
But it’s hard. It’s hard graft. You’re going home angry, upset, having a go at the missus for nothing, having a go at everyone. You’re just upset. It’s hard to be by yourself.
Fans of inappropriate profanity might be interested to know that Carroll was actually speaking while on a club-appointed visit to the Richard House Children’s Hospice in east London.
Anyway, for a player who has spent 3.8 years (a cumulative 1,389 days) of a 12-year senior career missing through injury, we reckon the goading is probably just about warranted.
Carroll also stated that he plans to earn the optional two-year extension he has written into his 90,000-a-week deal with the Hammers, which is set to expire at the end of the season.
Pies’ advice? Invest heavily in bubble-wrap and hope for the best.