The West Ham and England striker Andy Carroll is likely to miss the rest of the season after the club announced that he is to undergo knee surgery.

Carroll, who was unavailable to the manager, Sam Allardyce, until November after he injured ankle ligaments on a pre-season tour of New Zealand, was hurt during the goalless draw against Southampton at St Mary’s on Wednesday night.

“Andy Carroll will have surgery on his injured knee on Tuesday following assessment by a specialist on Friday afternoon,” a statement on West Ham’s official website read. “The England international injured his left knee during the second half of Wednesday night’s 0-0 Premier League draw at Southampton. The recovery phase is expected to keep Carroll out for the remainder of the 2014-15 season.”

Speaking before the news of Carroll’s latest setback, Allardyce had hoped the striker would be sidelined for a maximum of six weeks as West Ham aim for a finish in the top half of the table as well as a possible place in European competition next season.

“It is likely to be a few weeks, the medial ligament on the side of his knee has a tear in it from a fairly innocuous collision. He is wearing a brace,” Allardyce said. “I would have thought four to six weeks out, if we are lucky, depending on Andy’s recovery. Some players heal quicker than others. It is a big blow for him and us. It is another blow we have to cope with.”

Allardyce added: “It is a completely new injury. We thought it might be a recurrence but we have analysed it, unfortunately it is a new one and looks more serious than the original one. It is traumatic when someone is going through a period where you overcome one injury and another occurs.

“We thought we were there and then [he was injured against] Liverpool and now this one in a short period of time. It is very depressing for Andy but he knows the process and he has to be strong to overcome this injury as quickly as possible.”

Carroll has scored five goals in 14 league appearances since his return in November but he has started only 24 games since his move from Liverpool in August 2012 because of a string of injuries. In his first game for West Ham he picked up a hamstring problem that kept him out for a month before a twisted knee when playing against Manchester United two months later kept him sidelined for a further two months.

In May of the following year he hurt his heel in the final game of the season, an injury that kept him out for seven months and much of the following season. His absence leaves Allardyce with Carlton Cole, Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho as his three available attacking options.

Meanwhile, the West Ham goalkeeper Adrián’s red card against Southampton has been overturned, the Football Association has announced. The Spaniard was sent off for handling the ball outside his area after losing control of the ball when put under pressure by Sadio Mané. However, the referee, Craig Pawson, failed to spot he had been fouled by Mané prior to handling the ball. The overturning of the ban means Adrián is available for Saturday’s FA Cup match against West Bromwich Albion.

West Ham, though, have been charged with failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion in the wake of Adrián’s dismissal. They have until 6pm on Wednesday to respond to the charges.