Slav will stand by Carroll

Slaven Bilic reckons Andy Carroll is too brave for his own good.

The striker will again be missing from action as the Hammers go into the fifth round of the FA Cup against Blackburn Rovers tomorrow.

This time he has an abductor issue and the manager has claimed that he could be out for two weeks as a result of the injury..

Slav said: “”He is a very honest, very brave player. When he comes on, he rolls up his sleeves and he goes in, straight on, into somebody’s knee. He goes into tackles and into duels and if you are a boxer you are going to get punches. We are gutted and he is gutted at the situation.

“It should be difficult for him psychologically. The first time it happens you think, ‘I’m unlucky, it’s a coincidence’ but it gets in your head and you think, ‘I’m going to get injured.’ Maybe that is a problem.”

Bilic admitted that Carroll’s constant problems have made it difficult to plan, but claims he will keep faith withthe club’s record signing.

He said: “Of course. He is our player. He is Andy Carroll and we know what he is capable of.

“When he played against Liverpool on January 2, he played 90 minutes and it was not just the goal. He played good and I said to him, my staff and myself during the game ‘this is it now, he is fit’ and he was unstoppable.

“Three days after, he started great against Bournemouth. In the first 15 minutes he was our best player, slaughtering them. But then again, injured. A big blow.

“I can tell you a number of games when he has made a huge impact.

“When he is fit he can do a job in 15 minutes, but the fact is we want him to be fit for more than 15 minutes.”