Carroll nears West Ham return

West Ham striker Andy Carroll is nearing a return after resuming training with the first-team squad ahead of their Liverpool clash.

Carroll, 26, has been sidelined since February after undergoing knee surgery, with his past two Premier League seasons hit by injury.

The nine-time England international is approaching a return, with the club confirming on Wednesday that the striker was back training.

"I want to start this week with some really positive news," the club's head of medical and sports science Stijn Vandenbroucke said.

"Andy Carroll trained with the first-team squad on Tuesday and he will continue to do so as he continues to build up his match fitness ahead of a competitive return to action."

In other injury news for West Ham, who visit Anfield on Saturday, Diafra Sakho (adductor strain) is a chance to play, while Mauro Zarate (hamstring) is unlikely to feature.

Joey O'Brien (calf) will remain in rehabilitation for the next seven to 10 days.

After their impressive win at Arsenal in their opening league game, West Ham have suffered losses to Leicester City and Bournemouth to put manager Slaven Bilic under early pressure.