West Brom suffer two injury aggravations before Watford clash.
West Bromwich Albion are likely to have to make do without two important players against Watford.
Grady Diangana and Kyle Bartley are unlikely to feature for West Brom away at Watford this weekend after aggravating injury and fitness issues.
It was hoped Diangana would make his return against Coventry City on Wednesday but the winger wasn’t even named as part of the matchday squad. Bartley, meanwhile, had just started racking up full 90 minutes in matches after a knee issue but the experienced centre-half didn’t have enough energy in the tank to play again.
Head coach Carlos Corberan feels for Diangana in particular as he knows the hard work the Congolese has put in to recover from his calf problem. “Unfortunately it is being frustrating because we know how important he was,” Corberan admitted after the 2-0 victory over the Sky Blues.
“There is no important injury, but at the end we are not having an important player that of course we want to have with us. Still we need to wait. Let’s see. I was thinking he would be part of the group today but yesterday he was feeling pain again that is not letting him feel available for the squad.”
It’s unlikely Diangana will play at Vicarage Road this Sunday but you can never say never. Albion could do with the former West Ham United man’s return as the likes of Mikey Johnston, Karlan Grant and Tom Fellows are playing most minutes available to them and could do with a rest at some stage.
A similar issue could materialise in defence, too, as without Bartley there are only two fit centre-backs – Torbjorn Heggem and Mason Holgate. Bartley did feature in some capacity against Coventry, though, as he saw out the game off the bench.
“He didn’t feel the necessary energy to start the game,” Corberan added on Bartley. “It is not a problem with the knee. It is a physical development. For some players it takes more time to recover the rhythm, you need to have to play three games in a row.”
It’s unknown whether Bartley will have the energy to start against Watford but he’s certainly got a better chance than Diangana. When both are fully back, West Brom will feel a renewed sense of depth.
