Hughton's high hopes for Carroll

by setanta.com staff , 07 September 2010 Newcastle generic

Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton is hopeful that striker Andy Carroll will be fit to face Blackpool on Saturday.


The giant Magpies number nine missed training for five days before playing through the pain barrier of a swollen ankle against Wolves prior to the international break.

Hughton does not want to take any risks with his in-form forward, who still managed to snatch a draw with a terrific header at Molineux - taking his tally to four for the season.

He was subsequently forced to withdraw from international duty with Stuart Pearce's England Under-21s, but Hughton believes Carroll will be able to play against the Seasiders at St James' Park.

Hughton told the Newcastle Chronicle: "He's doing OK, but he still hasn't trained. We have to make sure he is rid of the problem.

"When it happened before the Wolves game he didn't train for five days.

"And there was still a lot of swelling afterwards.

"We're confident he'll be OK for Blackpool, but as always we'll continue to assess his fitness throughout the week."

Watch GAA games live on PPV
Pos
Team P W D L +/- PTS
1.
Man City
25
19
3
3
45
60
2.
Man Utd
25
18
4
3
36
58
3.
Tottenham
25
16
5
4
24
53
4.
Arsenal
25
13
4
8
13
43
5.
Chelsea
25
12
7
6
13
43
6.
Newcastle
25
12
6
7
0
42
7.
Liverpool
25
10
9
6
6
39
8.
Norwich
25
9
8
8
-4
35
9.
Sunderland
25
9
6
10
8
33
10.
Everton
25
9
6
10
-1
33
11.
Swansea
25
7
9
9
-4
30
12.
Fulham
25
7
9
9
-5
30
13.
Stoke
25
8
6
11
-14
30
14.
West Brom
25
8
5
12
-6
29
15.
Aston Villa
25
6
10
9
-5
28
16.
QPR
25
5
6
14
-17
21
17.
Blackburn
25
5
6
14
-19
21
18.
Wolverhampton
25
5
6
14
-21
21
19.
Bolton
25
6
2
17
-22
20
20.
Wigan
25
4
7
14
-27
19
Watch Online
Edit Web Part Contents