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19th Jan 2017

No, Andy Carroll did not give himself whiplash with that bicycle kick

Yes, we said whiplash.

Tom Victor

Andy Carroll may have scored one of the goals of the season against Crystal Palace, but at what cost?

The England international scored in West Ham’s 3-0 victory with a spectacular bicycle kick, but could miss the Hammers’ trip to Middlesbrough with whiplash.

You read that right, whiplash.

However, contrary to initial reports, the unlikely injury was not sustained in the act of leathering the ball beyond Wayne Hennessey, nor (as far as we can tell) was it a consequence of the former Liverpool frontman lifting up three players at once in celebration.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

“Andy has got a bit of a whiplash injury. That’s what I have been told by the physios, so I went to a dictionary to find out what that is,” West Ham manager Slaven Bilić said.

“He has a sore neck so hopefully he’s going to be OK. It was at the end of the game [and not when he scored his scissor kick goal].”

Now, if we know anything about whiplash (and we don’t), the best treatment for Carroll’s injury is for West Ham to fly JK Simmons over to London and get him to throw a chair at the striker.

Come on, how many times are we going to get the opportunity to make that reference? It’s not like Premier League footballers sustain whiplash during matches every day.

Catch up with this week’s episode of Football Friday Live: