West Ham Striker Andy Carroll to Miss First Month of the Season With Thigh Injury

West Ham striker Andy Carroll will miss the first month of the season with a thigh problem.

The England international picked up the injury towards the backend of last season and it has plagued him throughout pre-season, and the Mirror believe Carroll will not be ready to rejoin his teammates until the end of the international break in September.

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Carroll is now targeting a return against Premier League newcomers Huddersfield in the Hammers' first game of September as Slaven Bilic's side look to improve upon last season's campaign.

West Ham had been hoping the 28-year-old could feature in their third match at Newcastle after missing the openers against Manchester United and Southampton, but manager Bilic has been told the risk of playing Carroll would be too great.

Eventually finishing 11th, the Irons spent much of the season battling against relegation until they pulled clear in their final batch of matches, losing just one of their final six games.

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Carroll's absence means new signing Javier Hernandez will most likely start the season as West Ham's first choice striker, having joined the club after successful spells in Spain with Real Madrid and Germany with Bayer Leverkusen.

Club captain Mark Noble also suffered an injury during the pre-season friendly against Werder Bremen, which finished 2-2, limping off with a toe injury but West Ham expect the midfielder to be fit within a week. 

With Carroll out injured, new £25m signing Marko Arnautovic scored his first goal for the club during the draw with Bremen, with Toni Martinez grabbing the second.