Former England international Darren Bent believes that West Brom will miss Matheus Pereira after the attacking midfielder was hit with a three-game ban.

The Brazilian appeared to elbow Joe Allen during Albion's 1-0 defeat to Stoke City on Monday night, although he wasn't even booked for it at the time, with the officials missing the incident.

It was picked up afterwards however, with the Baggies talisman charged by the FA with violent conduct - a decision the club accepted.

And, speaking to Football Insider, Bent revealed that it was a deserved sanction for the summer signing and he feels his absence will be felt by Slaven Bilic's side.

"At the time when I saw it, I thought: ‘What’s happened there?’ and then they slowed down the replay and you see how much he’s giving him the elbow, that was always coming.

"Just a moment of madness, it wasn’t even like they were scoring a goal or anything. For as well as he’s been doing, it’s a massive blow."

The Baggies are currently without a win in six games and have seen their lead over third place cut to four points in recent weeks.

QUIZ: Can you name the season in which these 14 West Brom images were taken?

The verdict

You can understand what Bent is saying here because in terms of goals and assists, Pereira is the most productive player at The Hawthorns this season.

However, his form has dropped off quite significantly in the past five or six weeks and it's no coincidence that the team have suffered as a result.

So, it's not the massive setback it may have been a few months ago and this will give Pereira a chance for a break which may do him good.

Now, it's down to those on the fringes to give Bilic food for thought by performing well over the next three games.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.