A “terrific” West Brom player has suffered an injury blow and will now join Kyle Bartley in the treatment room, according to manager Carlos Corberan.
West Brom injury updates
After such an imperious start to the season, the Baggies have faded badly over the past month or so, suffering a string of disappointing results in the Championship.
In fact, West Brom haven’t won in their last six matches in the competition, dating all the way back to the 1-0 victory at home to Plymouth Argyle on September 21st. On Saturday afternoon, that poor run continued with a 0-0 draw at home to Cardiff City, with pressure beginning to grow on Corberan.
Not only have results been disappointing for the much-fancied Baggies, but injury problems threaten to further derail their campaign. On Saturday, Bartley was absent and is now expected to potentially be out until near Christmas, acting as a big blow, given his vast experience.
Unfortunately for Corberan, the 33-year-old isn’t the only fitness concern now, with a fresh update emerging regarding his side’s current situation.
Bad to worse as McNair hamstring injury confirmed
Speaking after the goalless draw with Cardiff, West Brom boss Corberan confirmed that Paddy McNair has also picked up a hamstring injury alongside Bartley’s setback, while Semi Ajayi is also struggling.
“It looks like a hamstring injury on Paddy and looks like a knee problem on Semi and that’s when you add to the Bartley knee injury it is a more challenging moment for the defensive line. The only one I can offer is that Bartley will be four to six weeks out of the team, that is all I can confirm so far.”
When it rains it pours, and that certainly seems to be the case with West Brom currently, with so much going wrong after such a seamless start to the new season. Bartley is a massive loss, as mentioned, with the Englishman starting 10 Championship matches before his injury absence, averaging 3.1 aerial duel wins per game in the competition.
To then lose both McNair and Ajayi to injury is sheer bad luck, with the former starting in place of Bartley at the heart of West Brom’s defence alongside the latter.
The Northern Irishman is such a solid deputy to his injured colleague, not least because of his experience down the years that has seen him win 68 caps for his country, while former manager at Middlesbrough, Michael Carrick, has previously highlighted exactly the trait the Baggies will now be missing: “I thought he was terrific. Probably the best player throughout the game with his passing from the back and composure on the ball.
Games that Kyle Bartley will now miss for West Brom after new injury update
Frustrating news for the defender…
ByTom CunninghamOct 27, 2024
Hopefully, McNair’s injury is nothing too serious, especially with fixtures coming so thick and fast in the league, starting with the trip to Luton Town on Friday evening. Hamstrings can be awkward, however, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him miss several weeks.