West Ham management fear Andy Carroll's career is OVER.

The Mirror says the 30-year-old striker suffered another ankle injury last week, and there are fears his latest blow is not just a serious one but that he has aggravated a previous problem.

Carroll required ankle surgery that kept him out for five months at the start of this season and missed three months at the beginning of last year, also with an ankle issue.

The club are investigating the severity of this latest injury to discover the full extent of it, but the setback is a potentially huge and ill-timed one for the 6ft 4in target man. His current £90,000-a-week deal is up this summer and a lengthy lay-off would end Carroll's fading hopes of getting a new deal.