The former Newcastle striker sparked calls for him to be considered for England's squad this summer with a superb hat-trick for West Ham in the 3-3 draw with Arsenal on Saturday.
But his time at West Ham has been beset by a series of injuries - allowing him to make just 54 league starts in nearly four years - and the former Newcastle man bristles at suggestions he is happy to be on the sidelines.
"A lot of people think that I actually want to be injured," he told the Daily Telegraph. "The way people talk, 'Oh, he's injured again. Oh, he's doing this'. I certainly don't want to be injured.
"I know it's a job but it's my hobby as well. I want to be on the pitch playing football. I don't want to be sitting in the gym being annoyed or going home and watching football on TV.
"I enjoy coming into training every day, being on the pitch with the lads, the banter. When you are sitting in the gym it really is depressing and puts you down. It is something that - fingers crossed - never happens again. It's the worst part of it."
Carroll has five weeks to convince Roy Hodgson he should be part of England's squad in France.
The 27-year-old was involved in Roy Hodgson's squad at the last European Championships in Poland and Ukraine in 2012 and opened the scoring in the victory over Sweden in the group stage - and he admits he needs to adapt his physical style when playing international football.
"You have to be a bit more clever," he added. "Some of the challenges and the way I throw my body around in the Premier League wouldn't work on an international stage. I completely understand watching it and having been involved in it.
"It's all about being clever. Even in the Premier League you know which refs you will get away with it and which ones won't. So you just don't bother.
"[With some] I think, 'Ahhh, not him again, I can't do anything'. Naming no names, there's a couple. Refs are all different and you know you will get away with stuff with some that you wouldn't with others, whether it's a foul or not."