Soccer-Carroll eyes England return after "nightmare" injury spell

Nov 5 (Reuters) - West Ham United striker Andy Carroll has set his sights on a return to the England squad after putting his "nightmare" injury spell behind him. The former Liverpool and Newcastle United forward made his first appearance of the season in September after spending eight months on the sidelines with a tear in his medial ligament. Carroll scored his first goal in nine months when he headed in Aaron Cresswell's cross after coming on as a substitute in West Ham's 2-1 win over Chelsea on Oct. 24. The 26-year-old, who last played for his country more than three years ago, intends to force his way back into England manager Roy Hodgson's plans ahead of the European Championship in France next year. "That's obviously in the back of my head. At the moment I'm concentrating on being fit and scoring goals at West Ham and that's the only thing that will lead me there," Carroll, who has scored twice in nine England appearances, told Sky Sports when asked about his chances of an international recall. "(Being injured) was a nightmare, a tough time, but I'm over it now and want to move on and keep myself healthy. "It was tough, it was hard. I just had to concentrate on getting back and I had my friends and family there to help me and support me." West Ham will be looking to bounce back after their disappointing 2-0 defeat by Watford last weekend when they host ninth-placed Everton in the Premier League on Saturday. The Hammers have been in impressive form this season, even without Carroll, and are sixth in the table after upset wins over Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea. (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru. Editing by Patrick Johnston)