West Ham United striker Andy Carroll has reportedly been forced to scale back his rehabilitation after suffering a viral infection in his stomach last week.

Carroll has yet to feature this season after suffering successive heel injuries, with West Ham still waiting for a return on their £15m investment shelled out earlier this summer.

The England international was thought to be targeting a return to action against Chelsea later this month, but has been unable to train in the last four days due to pains in his abdomen.

A club insider disclosed the news to The Sun, revealing: "Andy is very depressed about the whole thing.

"He is improving but he has had stabbing pains in his abdomen for the past four or five days and an extreme stomach upset.

"It's a cruel blow as he had been making steady progress."

In Carroll's absence West Ham have failed to score in six of their 10 Premier League games so far this season, with Sam Allardyce's side sitting 15th in the table, two points off the relegation zone.