West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic has expressed his frustration over Andy Carroll's injury record and said talks will take place over the matter at the end of the season.
Carroll, who has made 18 Premier League appearances this season and a further two in the FA Cup, has completed the full 90 minutes only 12 times so far.
The 28-year-old is currently out with a groin problem, and Bilic said his absence had been a factor in West Ham's struggles this season.
"I will be very disappointed if he is not involved in our next game [at home to Tottenham on Friday]," he said. "It looked like he would be 50-50 for the Everton game [on April 22], but it wasn't, so hopefully he's going to make it to be involved against Tottenham.
"He won't be available for 90 minutes, but you don't need to play the whole game to be effective -- like Stoke put Peter Crouch on for 20 minutes on Saturday. You want to have him at least on the bench, because it gives a lift to the team as we are lacking goals.
"Everything else I am happy with. We are defending good, we have a good shape and everything, never losing composure, good on the ball, but there we are.
"I know that Andy is not injured because he is not professional. That script is not the case. I know that Andy is very settled down, very up for training and looking after his body and it looked, at one stage of the season, that he would be OK and all that."
Carroll had returned from a knee injury in the victory over Burnley on Dec. 14 as West Ham began their best run of the season, and Bilic said: "It's not coincidence that during that period we won six out of nine, then suddenly we are without him."
He added: "We will talk about [his injury record] after the season."
West Ham are 15th in the Premier League, seven points clear of the relegation zone with three games to play.