West Ham were today left counting the cost of Andy Carroll’s £12,195-a-minute debut against Fulham.
The on-loan striker sustained a hamstring injury after 68 minutes at Upton Park on Saturday and scans have revealed that he will be ruled out for up to six weeks.
West Ham last week paid a £1.5million loan fee to Liverpool and will also be paying his £80,000-a-week wages in full during his spell on the sidelines. Taking into account six weeks of his loan fee plus the wages for that time, the total cost of his debut was £829,260.
The news is a blow for manager Sam Allardyce, who worked so hard to sign the 23-year-old during the transfer window, after seeing Carroll inspire West Ham to their second Premier League win of the season.
West Ham have an option to sign Carroll on a permanent £17m deal next summer.
He is expected to miss four Premier League games and has also withdrawn from England’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine. Roy Hodgson’s side play San Marino and Poland in early October and Carroll faces a race to be fit in time for selection.
England meanwhile, remain third in the latest FIFA world rankings following their 2-1 friendly victory over Italy in Switzerland last month.
Reigning world and European champions Spain top the standings released today, with Germany second. Portugal move above Uruguay into fourth, with Italy, Argentina, Holland, Croatia and Denmark completing the top 10.
Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland stay 26th, Wales drop eight places to 45th and Scotland are 47th. Northern Ireland, who face Fabio Capello’s Russia in a World Cup qualifier on Friday, are 129th.
