West Brom defender Kyle Bartley is set to be assessed ahead of Tuesday’s clash against Cardiff City after his new injury scare in the 2-2 draw against Ipswich Town, according to Lewis Cox.
The Express & Star journalist shared in his article (10 February) that Bartley’s injury will be scanned and assessed over the next day or two ahead of Tuesday (13 February) by the club after he was withdrawn by Carlos Corberan at half-time at Portman Road.
The Baggies came agonizingly close to a key win on the road at the home of a promotion rival through Tom Fellows and John Swift goals but for Omari Hutchinson’s 93rd-minute equaliser (10 February).
And Corberan told Express & Star after the game that Bartley’s withdrawal which forced him to deploy Okay Yokuslu at centre-back after impressing in midfield affected his side.
He said: “If I am honest with you I think the injury for Bartley has affected the team a lot.
“Because in that moment I was watching Bartley playing fantastic and Okay playing fantastic in the middle of the pitch too.
“But I understand that with their skills with set-pieces, it was the best way to solve the situation.”
Yet another new injury scare at The Hawthorns
The Baggies have been dogged by injury setbacks all season long and it massively continued on Saturday when not only Bartley was brought off but Daryl Dike suffered what looked like another long-term injury scare.
It’s live every new week, Corberan is placed with another new injury blow when he was starting to have several of his key first-teamers back in action, especially with his new January additions along with them.
Bartley’s injury may be more damaging than Dyke’s in all honesty, given they have striker replacements for the American international but Bartley’s leadership and communication at the back will be sorely missed and cannot be replaced.
Hopefully, the scans over the next couple of days don’t show any serious injury and the same can be hoped for on Dyke for that matter but given Bartley came off at half-time and didn’t return says a lot about a potential absence against Cardiff.
Tuesday’s game at The Hawthorns is a must-win given the number of teams treading dangerously close to the Baggies in the Championship playoff race and Corberan cannot afford a momentous slip on their way to securing their place in the top-six.
However, Bartley’s potential absence could prove an unfortunate domino effect.
In other West Brom news, Corberan wowed by one loanee who holds a big future in the first team at The Hawthorns.
