West Brom manager Valerien Ismael has revealed that the Baggies are still waiting to see if Alex Mowatt can make a timely return to action for them against Bristol City.
The Baggies are facing a potential issue in the midfield area ahead of their clash with Bristol City. That comes with Jake Livermore now suspended for the game after picking up his fifth yellow card of the campaign during their 2-1 defeat at Swansea City.
That comes with Mowatt having missed out on the trip to Swansea in mid-week after he had been forced off the field during the 1-0 win against Birmingham City.
Jayson Molumby started for the first time for West Brom in the Championship at Swansea as a result of Mowatt missing the game.
The Brighton loanee was also taken off the field late on by Ismael as the Baggies brought Robert Snodgrass on in the unfamiliar role in the middle of the park.
Speaking to the Express and Star, Ismael has revealed that he does not yet know whether Mowatt will be able to make a return to action against Bristol City.
While he also insisted his decision to bring off Molumby at Swansea was to protect him from picking up a second booking.
He said: “We will see. Day by day, how the improvement is, we will see.
“Jayson got a yellow card, and we didn’t want to take any risks for the game on Saturday because we knew Jake had the fifth yellow card.”
The verdict
This is a major issue for the Baggies because they are so light on numbers in the middle of the park. Mowatt is crucial for them and they need him back fit and ready to play as soon as possible.
However, they must also be very careful not to rush Mowatt back to fitness too soon and risk him recurring any more injury problems that could keep him sidelined for a longer period of time.
It seems a real mistake now for the Baggies to have cast aside Romaine Sawyers in the summer and allowed him to move out on loan to Stoke City. The midfielder could easily have filled in for them now during Mowatt and Livermore’s absences.
Snodgrass is now potentially going to have to perform a job in the midfield for the Baggies against Bristol City if Mowatt can not return to action.