The son of West Ham United co-chairman David Sullivan could find himself in hot water after appearing to ridicule club record signing Andy Carroll.
Jack Sullivan endorsed a parody account on social media site Twitter which pretends to represent the views of Hammers forward Carlton Cole.
Making light of the fact that England international Carroll has suffered an injury setback in pre-season training, Sullivan retweeted a message from @_CarltonCole9 which read: “Only three things are certain in life. Death, taxes and Andy Carroll injuring himself.”
The former Newcastle United talisman will have to sit out West Ham’s pre-season friendlies against Wellington Phoenix in Auckland tonight and Saturday’s clash with Sydney FC in Wellington.
Their tour of New Zealand was seen as a perfect opportunity for Carroll to make up for lost time and reach optimum fitness levels, having missed half of last term through ankle trouble.
He picked up a sore left ankle in training and, as a precautionary measure, will play no part in the upcoming fixtures.
The London outfit are confident the latest blow is not related to last season’s ailment.
West Ham hope to provide more competition for places up front by completing the signature of Pachuca forward Enner Valencia in the coming days.