Carroll has started no more than 15 matches in each of the past six seasons

Andy Carroll’s career at West Ham United is over after the forward had ankle surgery that will rule him out for the rest of the season.

The east London club have already indicated that they will not trigger a two-year extension on his contract, worth £80,000 a week, and the England forward can leave as a free agent this summer.

His departure will free up money on the wage bill, with West Ham planning wholesale changes to their attacking line-up in the transfer window, including the potential sales of Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernández. Carroll, 30, could move to Major League Soccer in the United States this summer.

When Carroll moved to Liverpool for £35 million from Newcastle United in 2011, he became the eighth-most