West Ham's Carroll Claims He's Unable to Train as Chelsea Links Hot Up But Scans Prove Otherwise

Andy Carroll has reportedly told West Ham that he is unable to train due to an ankle injury as Chelsea's interest in the striker grows by the day - yet, scans conducted by the club are said to have shown no problem.

The Blues were reported to have already made an official approach for Carroll earlier in the week as they look to address their glaring issues up front, as Alvaro Morata has struggled to show a consistent level of performance and Michy Batshuayi has seemingly been cast aside. 

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However, the Mirror have reported that the Hammers are yet to received a formal bid for Carroll, on either a permanent or loan basis. 

The striker has missed West Ham's last three fixtures, which included the club's FA Cup third round replay win over Shrewsbury on Tuesday, and is seemingly attempting to plot his way out of the London Stadium. 

The Hammers know Chelsea ideally want to strike a loan deal for Carroll but they are said to be holding out for a permanent deal which would have to amount to over £20m.

29-year-old Carroll has 18-months remaining on his contract which sees him earn £100-a-week, a club he has made over 100 appearances for and scored over 30 goals since he arrived in 2012 from Liverpool.

Carroll has been plagued by injury in recent years which has resulted in him featuring over 20 times in the Premier League on just two occasions in the last six seasons, whilst his 12 league appearances this season have returned two goals.