West Brom defender Ahmed Hegazi is back training with the first-team as he closes in on making his first appearance of the season.

The Egyptian international was away with his country during the summer as they hosted the African Cup of Nations and it was agreed he would have ankle surgery after that to clear up what had been a long-standing problem.

Boss Slaven Bilic revealed earlier this month that he hoped the 28-year-old would be back around the time of the Fulham game, which was Saturday, and Albion shared footage of the player back with the group on their Twitter account this afternoon.

Of course, that doesn't mean he will be thrown straight in against Huddersfield on Sunday, with the centre-back likely to play for the U23s as he tries to get up to speed.

Whilst the Baggies have had a good start to the season, with the draw at Craven Cottage last time out ensuring they remain unbeaten in the league, they have yet to keep a clean sheet so far this season.

The verdict

This is very good news for West Brom as their defence has looked unconvincing on occasions and Hegazi is a pretty reliable performer at Championship level.

Despite the lack of clean sheets, Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley are doing well, so he will have a battle to get his place back in the team.

However, there's no doubting his return will be very welcome for Bilic and it's no about giving the defender a programme to ensure he is read to feature for the first-team in the coming weeks.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.