West Ham's Bilic says club won't sell Carroll in January

(Reuters) - West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has ruled out selling striker Andy Carroll in January and said he did not expect the club to be very active in the transfer window as several key players were close to returning from injury. The Hammers are sixth in the Premier League table, four points outside the Champions League places and face Championship (second-tier) side Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday. Carroll has spent much of his time at West Ham in the treatment room but when fit, the 27-year-old, who has scored in his last two games for the Hammers, is one of the most effective traditional centre-forwards in England. "We never said we were willing to sell Andy, not me, not the chairman. He's a very popular player," Bilic told reporters at his pre-match news conference on Thursday. "Two goals in two games, the rumours start. The only way to stop the rumours is to play badly. "We do not want to sell him. I think he likes it here, he's very important in the dressing room. I know he is happy here." The Croatian also insisted that he was happy with the players at his disposal and was not looking to add to his squad. "We did the majority of the work in the transfer market in the summer, we are in a good situation with players coming back," he said. "We coped well with the injury situation, but we don't want to be in that position again. We are not going to be that active." "We're not going to buy just because we can. But if an exceptional deal comes available, then maybe." Influential midfielder Dimitri Payet is fully fit and working to gain match fitness, while defender Winston Reid has rejoined first-team training after being injured on Dec. 5. Victor Moses is expected to return to the squad after Saturday's game. Bilic also offered a timeline for Manuel Lanzini's return after the midfielder suffered a recurrence of a thigh injury against Liverpool on Jan. 2. "Lanzini suffered the same injury as before, hopefully it will only be a few weeks," the manager said. "We all want him back as soon as possible, he orchestrated the game against Liverpool. It looks like two to three weeks." (Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)