West Brom’s medical staff will be hoping that visitors to the club treatment area are kept to a minimum – or none at all, if feasible.
West Bromwich Albion, like all other EFL clubs, will be without players at various stages this season.
Aside from absence due to health and fitness, there is also the possibility of suspension. A red card will cause you to miss matches immediately, while accumulating yellow cards over time will result in a ban. Albion and Carlos Corberan will be trying to cope with the testing schedule ahead of them in 2023/24 and keep the group as healthy as possible over the following months.
This is the current situation in the treatment room…
Jeremy Sarmiento
Injury: Quadriceps injury. Sarmiento felt the effects from his first start v Millwall and was limited to a cameo against Preston, but the pain in his quad didn’t subside and scan results confirmed he’d need a period of recovery.
“The risk with Jeremy to play the game, whenever he is playing more minutes, there is always a risk because he is a player who hasn’t had the habit of playing games,” Corberan remarked. He appeared to be recuperating well from the Millwall game, and I had him in mind when we were preparing for Preston, but he came at Preston with just half a full recovery.
“He was experiencing quadriceps soreness. Our medical department determined that it was simply a result of gaming tiredness after a long period of not playing. That’s why I decided not to start him against Preston, and I’d have him available from the bench. He was playing for a few minutes when he felt soreness in the muscle, namely the left quadricep.
“He was receiving treatment for this pain on Sunday, and when the doctors checked – when the pain was there and didn’t go away, they made a scan – yesterday, it showed an injury.” It will keep him away from the group for four weeks. It’s challenging.”
Estimated return date: Sarmiento is out for four weeks, meaning that he could, at a push, be in the squad for the trip to Coventry on Monday 30 October – otherwise you’re looking at a return in November, either side of that international break.
Josh Maja
Injury: Ankle sprain. Maja required assistance leaving the ground during the goalless draw at Bristol City, as fans noticed him leaving Ashton Gate in a protective boot. From the day of the game, he’ll be sidelined for eight weeks.
“The key now, the focus,” said Corberan, “is to develop the players that we have.” We couldn’t bring in a man who could play as a third striker, which is why we need to play with players who can play as strikers if Asante isn’t available.”
Maja isn’t anticipated to return until after the November international break at the earliest.
Adam Reach
Injury: Ankle sprain. Maja required assistance leaving the ground during the goalless draw at Bristol City, as fans noticed him leaving Ashton Gate in a protective boot. From the day of the game, he’ll be sidelined for eight weeks.
“The key now, the focus,” said Corberan, “is to develop the players that we have.” We couldn’t bring in a man who could play as a third striker, which is why we need to play with players who can play as strikers if Asante isn’t available.”
Estimated return date: Maja isn’t expected to be back until the other side of the November international break at the earliest.
Adam Reach
Quadruple sprain. Reach staggered off the field at Burton in preseason after suffering a recurrence of the quad injury that had sidelined him in April.
“Always, long-term injuries are emotionally difficult to manage, but it’s true – Reach has one level of maturity with which he is dealing with the situation,” Corberan remarked. It’s a shame since his approach to pre-season, the effort he put in throughout the summer, and the energy he displayed in the opening games were all positive.
“Think about it: we’ve played the previous games with five, and he’s perfect for playing with five.” His finest position, in my opinion, is wing back. Consider how essential he may have been given the shape we created in the previous weeks. The players must adjust to the situation and manage their emotions. Without a doubt, he will return stronger than before.”
Estimated return date: Reach has undergone surgery and will be sidelined until December at the very earliest.
Daryl Dike
Achilles tendonitis. Dike suffered the injury in the first half of Albion’s recent triumph against Stoke City, and he will now be out for several months following the third major injury of his 15-month stay at the club. He has since recovered from surgery.
“The plan was to get Daryl back around November, December time,” Tony Strudwick continued. “He’s doing well; his surgery went extremely well.” He traveled to the United States. He’s back, and his attitude and application have been excellent.”
“The process with Dike will be completed in late December or early January,” Corberan remarked. Until January, I constructed the squad without thinking about Dike. This is our present lineup, although we intend to have two strikers.”
Estimated return date: It’s hard to know exactly when Dike will be back wearing an Albion shirt, but what is for sure is that it won’t be until December at the absolute earliest. With such injuries though, it could be that we’ve seen the last of Dike in 2023.
Martin Kelly
Injury: Kelly was sent on loan to Wigan for the rest of last season in January in order to play regularly again, and he turned in a man of the match performance on his debut in a goalless draw with Blackburn, but he suffered a serious knee injury towards the end of the game and required surgery and a spell on the sidelines.
What Carlos Corberan said: “Now he is making his recovery. Last Friday, for example, was the first day he was going to work with one of our technical members of staff, so we are helping him in this process of recovery. After this he’ll be one player more, knowing he is going to be eight months without playing football. It makes it more difficult, of course, for him to be ready to play.”
Estimated return date: Kelly was expected to return to first-team training in August but is still behind that schedule.
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