West Bromwich Albion have received a boost regarding the fitness of Grady Diangana and Matt Clarke ahead of their hosting of Luton Town on Saturday, Valerien Ismael told the club's website today.
The Baggies got their 2021/22 campaign off the ground with an enterprising 2-2 draw against Bournemouth last week, but will be intent on posting their first win on the board when they welcome Nathan Jones' Hatters to The Hawthorns on Saturday.
Grady Diangana was influential in West Brom's automatic promotion from the second tier in 2019/20 and his return to the side will give the Baggies a significant edge.
Ismael said: "Grady is ok. He’s recovered well and we’ve had a long week to prepare him for Saturday’s game.
"We managed him quite well at the start of the week and then he trained the last three days with the full squad.
"We’re happy he’s available for the game."
Ball playing centre back Clarke was brought to the club with Ismael's style of play in mind, despite Dara O'Shea grabbing a goal at Dean Court, Clarke is thought to be one of the first choice centre backs at the Hawthorns.
The Brighton loanee suffered a minor back injury in the eleventh hour ahead of the big kick-off last week but will return to feature in the squad this weekend.
Ismael added: "Matt Clarke is also back after he suffered a very small injury before the game against Bournemouth last weekend.
"It’s great for me to have the choice and the players need to make it difficult for me to pick the team and the squad."
West Brom boast a squad that every Championship club must be envious of in some way, anything but a win will be a disappointing result against Luton.
The Verdict
In Grady Diangana the Baggies have a talent way above second tier level, injuries have held him back in recent years but if the medical staff can keep him fit for the majority of the campaign, West Brom will cruise to a top six finish minimum.
There were a lot of positive signs in the curtain raising match, none more so than Callum Robinson's sumptuous second half equaliser. Football League fans alike are purring over the prospect of Ismael implementing his hell for leather style with the depth of talent in the Baggies squad compared to what he worked wonders with at Barnsley last term.