Carroll held in assault probe

An England Under-21 footballer was arrested on suspicion of assault following an alleged fight in a nightclub.

Andy Carroll, striker with Championship leaders Newcastle United, was held by police following the incident in the city's busy Bigg Market which left a man needing hospital treatment.

A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: "Shortly after 1.30am today, police received reports of an assault at Blu Bambu, Bigg Market, Newcastle. A man suffered head injuries which are not described as life-threatening. He was taken to Newcastle General Hospital and later discharged. A 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm."

He was arrested in September last year and cautioned after a woman complained she had been assaulted in Pudding Chare, off the Bigg Market.

Gateshead-born Carroll has established himself as a first-team player this season and been capped twice for the England Under-21s.

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