West Brom injury latest as six absentees and one return confirmed ahead of Stoke City trip
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West Bromwich Albion’s recent form hasn’t been helped by the number of players on the treatment table as they look to mount a late play-off push. Carlos Corberan has seen a vital proportion of his squad enter the physio room in recent weeks, which has coincided with their slide down the table.
The Spaniard oversaw a dramatic upturn in Albion’s fortunes when he joined the club in October of last year, lifting them off the foot of the table and into the play-off battle. However, their recent capitulation has seen them slip toward the mid-table area of the Championship standings.
Here’s an update on each of Albion’s injured squad members.
Alex Palmer
- Injury: Sustained a serious injury in training just before the Baggies’ win over Coventry City and has been missing ever since.
- Return: Has been on the bench for the previous two games, and is now deemed fit enough to return to the starting XI should Corberan decide to replace Josh Griffiths with him.
- What Corberan said: “From the last four days Palmer is making the normal training with the group, but he was able to train normally after that game and now of course arrives to one condition where every day he is training normally he starts to be more fit to help the team.”
Dara O’Shea
- Injury: Was hit with a knee injury whilst on international duty with Republic of Ireland, this being the second time in as many seasons that O’Shea has sustained a blow playing for his nation.
- Return: The defender won’t be back before the end of the campaign and is likely to be a huge miss for his side.
- What Corberan said: “O'Shea, in the game, suffered a kick in the knee and he's not going to play any of the games we play until the end of the season - that's around seven weeks out of the squad.”
Kyle Bartley
- Injury: Has been plagued with several different injuries since the World Cup break, he came back into the squad against Millwall and Rotherham United but was missing against QPR as a precautionary measure.
- Return: Bartley is being judged on a day-to-day basis so his return is unknown.
- What Corberan said: "Bartley in the last game against Rotherham felt something in the hamstring. That's why he was not involved, he tried to train yesterday, but he couldn't complete the warm-up.”
Jayson Molumby
- Injury: Like O’Shea, he picked up an injury during a promising display for the Republic of Ireland against France.
- Return: Played the final 15-20 minutes against QPR, which came as a surprise to supporters who were led to believe he wouldn't be back until later in the season.
- What Corberan said: "Nobody was expecting him to be involved - we thought he was pushing himself too much. He'll be ready for the game of Stoke City, yesterday before training he wanted to train, he wanted to try and we allowed him to do it, open the gate and letting him be involved.”
Okay Yokuslu
- Injury: Suffered a knock prior to Albion’s defeat to Rotherham, which kept him out of the Easter fixtures.
- Return: The Turk was due to return against QPR, but wasn’t deemed ready enough to play a part.
- What Corberan said: "With Okay is more about the day by day. We wanted him to be ready for the game here, but he couldn't.”
Matt Phillips
- Injury: The winger suffered a quadriceps injury during Albion’s 4-0 FA Cup third-round replay victory over Chesterfield back in January.
- Return: Phillips isn’t expected to return before the end of the season and could face a race to be fit before the next campaign.
Kean Bryan
- Injury: Sustained an ACL all the way back in November of 2021 and hasn't featured since.
- Return: Isn’t likely to feature in the remainder of the campaign, at the end of which his contract expires.
Adam Reach
- Injury: The midfielder was confirmed by Corberan to have injured his quadricep.
- Return: Like Phillips, Bryan, Kelly and Diangana, Reach will miss the remainder of the campaign.
Martin Kelly
- Injury: Picked up a serious knee injury on his loan debut for Wigan Athletic.
- Return: The former Crystal Palace and Liverpool man will be out for the season.
Grady Diangana
- Injury: Suffered ankle ligament damage during the Baggies’ 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough.
- Return: After undergoing surgery successfully, the winger won't be available for the rest of the season.
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