West Ham boss Sam Allardyce says he is undecided as to whether Liverpool loanee Andy Carroll will start when the Hammers face Arsenal on Saturday.

Carroll made his return from a hamstring injury as a second half substitute in West Ham’s 2-1 victory over QPR on Monday.

The 23-year-old’s 18-minute cameo at Loftus Road was followed by an England call up from Roy Hodgson for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland.

Before joining up with his England team-mates, however, Allardyce wants Carroll to concentrate on Arsenal’s visit to Upton Park on Saturday.

“I think that Andy needs to focus on being in the squad for the Arsenal game,” said Allardyce.

Although Carroll is widely expected to replace Carlton Cole up front, Allardyce insists he has yet to make a decision.

“As yet I haven’t decided what part he’s going to play in it just yet.

“I’ll decide that once we’ve assessed everybody in training today [Thursday].

“I’ll make that decision tomorrow and we’ll take it from there.”