West Ham’s Andy Carroll could be back in action sooner than his initial target, according to the Mirror.

The striker underwent surgery on his torn ankle ligaments in July in Baltimore, after he was forced to leave the club’s New Zealand tour. He is said to be running again for the first time since.

Carroll was confirmed to be out for four months, making a return in November, but his recent recovery of running sounds  promising for West Ham and their fans. The striker himself is reported to be quietly confident.

With a different injury last season, the 25-year-old thought he could come back earlier than anticipated but actually ended up missing the entire first half of the season.