West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has admitted that he has to carefully manage Andy Carroll on his latest injury return, leaving the striker out of his squad to face Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup.
The England international has played 82 minutes in both of the Hammers' last two Premier League games - a 2-0 win against Huddersfield Town and a goalless draw with West Bromwich Albion.
Bilic is unwilling to risk Carroll for a third match in the space of eight days, however, and will therefore overlook him for selection when Bolton visit the London Stadium for a third-round clash in midweek.
Speaking to reporters, he said: "Of course we have to manage him. He looks good, he looks fit, he is training, hopefully he is going to last because that was his problem for ages.
"He ain't going to play tomorrow for example. We are managing him a little bit differently this season. Maybe he would have been available for the Newcastle game but we had the international break so we gave him two more weeks.
"Now he is back, we will avoid having him play three times a week for 90 minutes. We are going to use every opportunity, not to rest him for the sake of resting, but to keep him fit long term."
Carroll has been backed by Bilic to form a prolific strike partnership with Javier Hernandez when getting a string of games under his belt.
Daniel Lewis
