Carlos Corberan in tricky West Brom midfield conundrum following FA Cup injury blow

West Bromwich Albion have suffered an injury blow to key player Matt Phillips, who is set to miss up to 12 weeks of action with a quadricep injury.

The long-serving winger came on as a substitute during Albion’s FA Cup third-round replay victory over Chesterfield, but he went down injured shortly after taking to the field.

This leaves manager Carlos Corberan with a decision to make during Phillips’ absence, with Grady Diangana filling in on the left-hand side during last Friday’s 2-1 defeat to league leaders Burnley at Turf Moor.

The Spaniard does have other options though, with Karlan Grant and Adam Reach both holding previous experience in that position.

Who might Corberan turn to during Phillips’ absence?

Grady Diangana

The winger began the season in fine form and was the shining light during a particularly bleak beginning to the Championship campaign under Steve Bruce. He put in some performances reminiscent of his initial loan spell at the club during the promotion-winning season of 2019/20 under manager Slaven Bilic.

Diangana has struggled with renewing the confidence he had during that season according to former boss Bruce but it was thought that the signings of John Swift and Jed Wallace would help alleviate the attacking burden on the former West Ham United man.

He signed for Albion for a fee of around £18 million, but the winger is yet to repay that price tag since making his loan switch a permanent one. Since that move in the summer of 2020, Diangana has only netted six goals and four assists, totaling less than the single season he spent on loan at the club.

But the 24-year-old has a huge chance to wrench back a place in Corberan’s starting XI following Phillips’ injury, with him being shown an initial bit of faith from the Spaniard after starting the Burnley game.

Diangana started the clash brightly and caused problems for full-back Conor Roberts, but eventually tailed off and was substituted for Reach just seven minutes from time. The winger must try to generate some consistency if he is to hold on to his spot on the left wing.

Karlan Grant

The former Huddersfield Town ace spent a short period of time working under Corberan during his time with the Terriers before his move to the Midlands. But still, the forward has found minutes hard to come by under the Spaniard, with Stoke City reportedly interested in bringing him in during the January transfer window.

Grant can be versatile when it comes to positions he can play in, being chosen as a sole striker for large parts of last season, but his most fruitful spells both at West Brom and Huddersfield came when played from the left-hand side.

Under former Albion manager Valerien Ismael, he played on the left of a front three and managed to almost pip his highest-scoring season in the second tier with 18 goals.

And current manager Corberan told Express and Star that he also believes that Grant’s best role is out wide. “He’s a very important player for us,” Corberan said. “He was playing as a striker when he is not a striker, so he was putting in the effort to play in a position which is not his position. He’s more a winger, and it’s true that, for me.”

Grant started and scored in the initial FA Cup third-round tie with Chesterfield where he played on the wing, just to the left of brace scorer Brandon Thomas-Asante - who also has pedigree playing in the channels. Although he has been out with an injury of late, the forward could be recalled in Phillips’ place during his absence.

Adam Reach

Signed as left wing-back cover by Ismael after being released following the expiration of his contract at Sheffield Wednesday, Reach provides a slightly unorthodox option for this role.

However, he has been used there by Corberan since his appointment, even if it was only for a short time - most recently when he replaced Diangana in the dying minutes of the Burnley defeat.

His attacking output probably will be short of what the Spaniard is looking for, with him only registering two goals and an equal amount of assists since joining the club in August of 2021 - but he still provides an option nonetheless.