Tuesday 29 November 2016 14:04, UK
Slaven Bilic is unsure how long he will be without Diafra Sakho, but has revealed he could welcome Andy Carroll back for West Ham's EFL Cup tie away at Manchester United on Wednesday.
Carroll has not featured for West Ham since August after suffering a knee injury in the Europa League play-off match against Astra Giurgiu.
He returned to full training last week and Bilic says he will make a late call on whether to include the forward in his squad for the quarter-final tie at Old Trafford, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7.30pm.
"We're going to see today whether Andy Carroll is ready, we will make a decision after training. Maybe tomorrow, definitely Saturday [v Arsenal]," the West Ham manager said.
Bilic also confirmed Sakho would undergo a scan on Tuesday on the hamstring injury he sustained in the Hammers' 1-1 draw with United in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Senegal forward scored inside the opening two minutes, but was withdrawn in the 66th minute after pulling up with the problem.
Sakho only returned from a three-month lay-off with a back injury in the 3-2 defeat away at Tottenham on November 19 and Bilic admits he is facing an anxious wait over the fitness of the 26-year-old.
"Diafra is now in hospital and he is having a scan, the scan is of course going to show us how big the injury is," he said.
"It's a hamstring, so we don't know how long will be out for yet, but he's definitely not available for tomorrow.
"I don't whether it's going to be one week two weeks, three weeks or four weeks, we have to wait for the results of the scan and then we'll know how many weeks we'll be without him.
"We know how important he is to us, he gives us a lot so it's a big blow and I hope he returns as soon as possible."
West Ham defeated United 4-0 at the same stage of the EFL Cup in 2010 and Bilic believes the competition provides his club with a "big opportunity" to claim their first piece of silverware in 36 years.
"The rest of the squad is good, we played well against Man Utd. But tomorrow, a draw is not enough, there has to be a winner," he said.
"We were underdogs against Chelsea, and we are underdogs again now. This cup is a big opportunity for us.
"Tomorrow, we will do everything we can to beat Man Utd. We will give a few players a chance, but we are going there to win."
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