West Ham's Kevin Nolan sticks up for Andy Carroll after assault claim

West Ham United midfielder Kevin Nolan has insisted that teammate Andy Carroll did not assault a photographer during a night out in Dublin.

The 23-year-old, who is on loan at the Hammers from Liverpool for the season, was interviewed by police over the weekend after it was alleged that he had struck a press photographer in the face during the London club's Christmas party in Ireland.

"Someone is trying to fabricate a story and that is the disappointing thing," the Daily Mail quotes Nolan as saying. "It is part and parcel of what we do and we understand that.

"We have had a fantastic weekend away and you think you have come back with no problems but someone has made something which was nothing as far as I was aware."

Meanwhile, Carroll is expected to be sidelined for two months with a knee injury.