Off the pitch, West Bromwich Albion were finally handed some good news this month, with Shilen Patel's takeover reaching completion to spell the end of Lai Guochuan's nightmare ownership at The Hawthorns. On the pitch, however, things haven't been so positive with one injury dealing Carlos Corberan a frustrating blow.
West Brom injury news
The West Brom boss was speaking to the press before his side's Championship clash against fellow play-off hopefuls Hull City. As things stand, the Baggies sit fifth, one place and one point above the Tigers, who occupy the final play-off spot. If West Brom slip up, not only will Hull leapfrog them, but Coventry City and Norwich City could also move to within just one point of the Midlands club, summing up the importance of this week's round of fixtures.
Corberan did at least have some positive injury news to provide though, telling the official West Brom website: “Kyle Bartley is fit for Saturday’s game. He’s been working very hard to be back fit as soon as possible. He’s wanted to be back with the team. He’ll be in the squad for the match. John Swift suffered a kick against Plymouth on Tuesday, but he’s been training as normal with the group and he’s going be ready for Saturday’s game as well."
Alas, that's where the good news ended, with the Baggies boss also confirming that Brandon Thomas-Asante will miss between two to five weeks through injury. Corberan said: “The player who won’t be ready is Brandon Thomas-Asante. There’s a bit of a gap in terms of when we might expect him to be available again, somewhere between two to five weeks. He will go for another scan.
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“The reason for the long gap is because the injury he has is close to the tendon. It means we have to be sure everything is fixed before he comes back, because another injury could mean he’s at higher risk of picking up a bigger problem. That’s why there is an open gap for when we will determine if he’s fit to come back to the group.”
Games that "quick" Thomas-Asante will miss
In the worst-case scenario, Thomas-Asante will miss the next five games and return at the end of March in what will be a damning blow for those at The Hawthorns. Corberan, instead, will be hoping for the best-case scenario, which will see the forward make his return in a couple of weeks.
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Thomas-Asante's teammates will be well aware of the quality that they'll be missing, especially John Swift, who praised the forward in pre season. Swift said via the Express and Star: "I’d have to say Brandon has impressed me the most in pre-season so far, especially with the running. I don’t think I realised how fit he actually was.
“You see in matches how quick he can be and how much he can put defenders under pressure with his running, but actually over a long distance, the ability to just keep going and going and going is something he’s really strong at."