Andy Carroll will be making his second start for England Tuesday night against Ghana, but while some believed that those in the Liverpool camp may not be too pleased with Carroll seeing time as he recovers from injury, manager Fabio Capello's concern was clearly elsewhere.
"Absolutely no-one has rung me and we have not spoken with Liverpool," Capello said, according to the Telegraph.
"He needs to play. Liverpool will be happy for him to play. It is a friendly and he can play up to half-time, or more. For this reason, the game is important for him and for me."
“Andy is not fit like he was in November. He is big, so he needs more games, three or four, minimum, to return to being the same player."
Instead, the England manager's greatest concern about Carroll pertained to his alcohol consumption — and the various incidents that have resulted from such.
“I spoke with him privately,” said Capello. “He needs to improve, to drink less. I think not only Andy likes to drink beer. Look, he’s really young. His behaviour now is really, really important. He needs to be careful at every moment. When you play with the England national team, at every moment you are the focus of the fans, the newspapers, the photographers, the people that live around him.”
The manager also gave a similar warning to Jack Wilshere, but claimed that he would let his teacher, Arsene Wenger, speak to the young midfielder.
Capello, however, did send some praise Carroll's way.
"Carroll is a player, who's really good in the air, but not only this," said Capello.
"The movement when he receives the ball is good. With the ball. He's strong. He's a good player. He's a good forward."
