Carroll was dropped for the Magpies' midweek clash against Coventry following his arrest over an allegation of assault.
Chris Hughton: "[Carroll] coped very well with it. I think the fact that he was instrumental in both goals and gave the contribution that he did proves that.
"I suppose he didn't give us anything we don't already know. We know he's a handful and on his day a very good player.
"I think when you're 2-1, up with so little of the game to go, it's very disappointing when you don't get the result.
"What we didn't do well enough today in that last period was defend a set play, which we've been very good at doing."