The West Ham striker prepares to face the side where he failed to fit, Liverpool, but bears no grudges because a place in Roy Hodgson's World Cup squad is his priority

Andy Carroll is looking forward to confronting the club that discarded him but West Ham United's centre-foward remains adamant he harbours no bitterness towards Liverpool. When it comes to proving a point, he is more concerned about jogging Roy Hodgson's memory than trying to change Brendan Rodgers' mind.

A little more than three years on from his £35m move from Newcastle United to Anfield, Carroll would relish ruining the Liverpool manager's weekend by scoring the winning goal at Upton Park on Sunday, yet he still hopes Rodgers' team win the title.

After missing much of this season with injury, Carroll's return has coincided with West Ham's rise from relegation danger into mid-table and, after scoring in the 2-1 win at Sunderland last Monday, England's forgotten man is in confident mood. So much so that Carroll has not discounted the possibility of making Hodgson's World Cup squad and adding to his nine senior caps. "That's what I want," said the 25-year-old. "I'll be devastated if I don't get to Brazil but it's up to me to play well and score the goals I need to get there."

As with Hodgson, Carroll's career took a wrong turn at Anfield. "There's no bitterness about Liverpool at all," he said. "I moved to West Ham and I'm loving it.

"Apart from the injury setback everything has been great but I'm looking forward to playing Liverpool on Sunday. They're on fire at the minute and they're the team to beat. Hopefully we can do it. I think we're all confident we're safe now. We've taken 18 points from the last nine games and it would be great to keep the run going."

Carroll is sanguine about his face not fitting in the Rodgers revolution and accepts his former manager's view that there was no room for him in a side constructed to bring out the best of Luis Suárez. "The way Liverpool play now is incredible," he said. "But they have the players to play that way. Suárez and Sturridge up front are completely different to me.

"I said from the beginning of the season that I thought they had a great chance of winning the league. I said that from the very start. Having played with Suárez and knowing what's he like, and with them signing Sturridge, who is a great player as well, I told all the lads Liverpool would win it. The way that Suárez and Sturridge connect together is unbelievable. They look unbeatable."

Carroll is convinced Suárez has elevated the performances of those around him. "He's a great player," he added. "He's scored 29 goals this season, he's incredible. You can't doubt him and he lifts the others. After games Luis wants to train. When he should be resting he wants to be out there, he never gives up, never stops running. It's infectious. That's why all the players around him are performing like they are."

West Ham's talisman is a very different breed of striker and Carroll accepts he and Liverpool could never quite connect, while disputing the suggestion Rodgers undervalued his undeniable skills. "My ability in the air is one of my strengths, that's one of the main points of my game," he said. "The ball comes in and I'm confident I'll get on the end of it. But it all depends on the team you play for – and Liverpool do not put the ball in as we do at West Ham."

Two goals in nine Premier League appearances since recovering from the heel complaint that wiped out much of this campaign do not fully reflect Carroll's importance to Sam Allardyce's side but Southampton's Rickie Lambert is likely to be concerned whether his place on England's flight to South America is now at risk. "Being injured was tough and frustrating," acknowledged Carroll. "I was a bit rusty the first couple of games back, and it showed, but I feel great now. I could not be fitter. I'm doing the right things." Indeed, a player not always noted for an ideal lifestyle at Newcastle United has morphed into such a disciplined professional that he even submits to regular cryotherapy sessions designed to promote healing.

"I'm going into the ice chambers," he said, referring to Allardyce's beloved cryotherapy machines in which West Ham players are encased in liquid nitrogen before enduring temperatures of –140C. The shock speeds up blood supply, drawing oxygen to muscles and thereby accelerating recovery.

Carroll is happy to withstand the considerable discomfort if the benefits offer a pathway towards the heat and humidity of Brazil. Not to mention keeping him off the treatment table. "I don't want to talk about injury," said a striker desperate to convince Hodgson of his robustness. "I don't want anyone to mention my injury."