LONDON -- Injured West Ham striker Andy Carroll says he cannot wait to be involved with the Hammers' new, improved and attacking team.
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Carroll broke down in preseason training with an ankle ligament injury that is set to keep him out until December, but says his recovery is all going to plan.
Without him, Sam Allardyce's team, flush with new signings, has got off to a fine start, and beat Carroll's former club Liverpool 3-1 on Saturday.
"It's great watching the new lads fit in," said Carroll, speaking at the launch of Club London, the executive facilities set to be housed at the Hammers' new Olympic Stadium when the club moves there in the summer of 2016. "I can't wait to get back.
"I've started running, been running for the last 10 days. I've had no problems with the ankle, and hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll be joining in with the lads."
Carroll's injury problems have mirrored last season, when the club had to do without its 15 million pound record signing's services until mid-January with a heel complaint.
"The last place I want to be is in the treatment room," he said. "It's a nightmare looking out the gym window and watching the lads playing.
"I have had injuries, I am not hiding away from that. Hopefully, this is the last one.
"The club put a lot of faith in us paying such money, but it's something that couldn't be helped, I done it in training. It's an injury I don't want. It's hard being injured, especially when it comes after the last injury."
Last season, the Hammers struggled without Carroll, but Allardyce's team has surprised many with the quality of their attacking play, with Ecuador's Enner Valencia and Senegal's Diafra Sakho impressing as strikers, while the likes of Mauro Zarate and Morgan Amalfitano have made telling contributions.
"They are playing great football," Carroll said. "I was over the moon over with the result against Liverpool. I am just dying to be back out there and involved.
"I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am going to be about there soon. All the new lads have fitted in well and it's brilliant to see."
"I think if I am on form and playing well, I can get into the team," he said when asked if he feared a battle for a starting place. "We have some great players. The signings have been fantastic. Even in training, you see there's more bodies involved."
Cheikhou Kouyate, a summer addition who will join Carroll in the treatment room for six weeks after a groin injury suffered against Liverpool, was singled out for special praise by the striker. "Cheikhou in the middle's been brilliant. He never stops running and gives it everything."
Carroll admitted that last season he probably came back ahead of schedule but says he feels less pressure this time around to recover from the ankle operation he underwent in America.
"There was lot of talk about when I was going to be back fit, and I did rush more than I should have," he said. "The lads are doing well, and I'm just taking my time."
The Hammers' form has lifted pressure off Allardyce, who ended last season under a hail of criticism from fans, and had to pledge in a club statement that he would bring a more entertaining brand of football to the Boleyn Ground. Carroll said the boss has always had the players' support.
"We trust the manager, we believe in the manager," he said.