Constant sniping about his less-than-impressive fitness record has often added insult to injury for Andy Carroll, but with a career of peaks and troughs seemingly back on an upward trajectory, his focus is on a return to the England squad rather than the treatment table.

The West Ham United manager, Slaven Bilic, described his player’s talent in terms of the perfect storm, and certainly Middlesbrough were unable to weather the battering they received, as a side based on ­defensive stability looked anything but on one of the forward’s more unplayable afternoons.

Since breaking through at Newcastle a decade ago, it quickly became clear that Carroll always possessed the talent to thrive at the highest level, but the question was always whether his body was up to the physical demands.

Carroll, 28, scored twice to propel West Ham into to the top half of the Premier League with a fifth win in seven games. He said: “Everyone talks about my injuries, and I can’t really say that’s unfair because over the years I haven’t been as fit as I’ve wanted to be. I’ve got to put up with it and I want and need those injuries to be in the past so I can play for the last few years of my career injury free.