Andy Carroll admitted he had been "dying to get back" after his surprise return from a hamstring injury in West Ham's win at QPR on Monday.
Carroll played the final 18 minutes of the Hammers' 2-1 Premier League victory at Loftus Road, less than a month after it was feared he would be sidelined for six weeks.
That would have ruled him out of England's World Cup qualifying double-header against San Marino and Poland this month and the on-loan Liverpool striker was understandably delighted to be back sooner than expected.
Carroll, who suffered his injury on his debut, told West Ham TV: "I have been dying to get back. I was devastated when I got injured, but I've worked hard and I've been in the gym every day.
"I've only been out on the training pitch a handful of times since so it was great to be out there at Loftus Road playing football again.
"All the medical staff here are great and they have worked well with us. I've been over the moon with what I've been doing and obviously that has made for a speedy recovery."
