The grin was still etched on Andy Carroll’s face long after West Ham emerged triumphant from a hectic London derby at Queens Park Rangers.
When the giant striker tore a hamstring during his debut for the Upton Park club, the gloomy prognosis was that it could take six weeks before he played again.
So to return after a month — and 70 minutes into a raucous Premier League encounter at Loftus Road —was something of a gamble. For the player, the West Ham boss Sam Allardyce and watching England coach Roy Hodgson, who looks likely to pick Carroll for his next squad.
In the event, it was a risk worth taking. The former Newcastle striker, who left many at Liverpool scratching their heads when he came south on loan on transfer deadline day, looked understandably short of match sharpness, yet still made a difference when he replaced Carlton Cole.
“Ever since I was injured against Fulham, I have been dying to get back,” said Carroll, speaking in public for the first time since he joined West Ham.
“I’ve only been out on the training pitch a handful of times since so it was great to be out there again. I was devastated when I got injured but I’ve worked hard and all the medical staff here are great.
“As soon as I stopped feeling the hamstring a week or two ago I wanted to get back on the pitch but they wouldn’t let me because they told me it wasn’t right.
“I had only trained a handful of times so it was touch-and-go but all the staff have been great with me. I felt fine and obviously they wouldn’t have risked me if I had any problems.”
Carroll’s long-term future may remain in the balance, with rumours Liverpool will recall him in January or that he will return to Tyneside in a swap deal with Demba Ba. But at the moment, the 23-year-old striker is enjoying life in London.
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“It’s been great,” confirmed Carroll, who is a close friend of West Ham captain Kevin Nolan. “They are a great group of lads here. Everyone is in it for each other and you can see that closeness in games. It’s the same on the training ground. I’m enjoying it.”
Even in last night’s 20-minute cameo performance it was clear he has a developing partnership with winger Matt Jarvis, another of West Ham’s summer signings.
“Matt loves putting balls in the box and that is what I thrive on, crosses coming in and getting my head on the end of them,” Carroll said. “He put four or five balls in straight away when I came on.”
West Ham defender James Tomkins, meanwhile, today revealed his frustration at missing out on a place in Allardyce’s first team this season after being picked for the Great Britain squad in the Olympics.
Tomkins replaced Winston Reid after 22 minutes when the New Zealander was knocked out in a collision with his own goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.
“I wanted to represent the British team in the Olympics, the manager gave me the chance and I appreciated that,” he said.
“I went there expecting to play more than I did so I missed a lot of time here. Instead, James Collins and Winston were able to play together and the manager set his thoughts on those two for the start of the season.
“It’s been frustrating but the back four have done well so it’s been difficult to change. It’s nice to come on and win and it gives me confidence.”
