View: West Brom handed blow over reported contingency plan for Diangana
West Brom attacker Jonathan Leko is set to miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury he has sustained while on loan at Charlton.
The Addicks confirmed via their official website on Friday that Leko, 20, suffered an ACL injury in the 2-2 draw against QPR last week.
Lee Bowyer is gutted to lose the England Under-20 international, who has now returned to the Black Country in order to undergo his rehabilitation.
“Jonathan Leko is out for the rest of the season,” said the Charlton boss.
“It came from nothing – he jumped, landed, jolted his knee a bit and has done his ACL. He’ll be out for the rest of the season, going into next season as well.
“I feel sorry for the lad, because he was doing so well for us. He’ll go back, have an operation and we’ll have to look for someone to replace him.”
Leko’s injury is a major blow for himself, Charlton and parent club West Brom, who reportedly saw the young attacker as a contingency plan for if West Ham were to recall Grady Diangana in January.
According to the Express & Star, the Baggies were considering the possibility of recalling Leko next month if Diangana was to return to the London Stadium.
Diangana has been in terrific form while on loan at The Hawthorns this season but West Ham have the option to terminate his loan deal in the first two weeks of the January transfer window.
And based on how badly the Hammers are playing in the Premier League at the moment – they are just one point above the relegation zone – there is a definite possibility that Diangana could be called back by Manuel Pellegrini.
Would Leko have been a good enough replacement for Diangana?
Although Leko is not as good as the West Ham winger, he has certainly shown great form while on loan at The Valley.
In 21 appearances for Charlton, Leko scored five goals and supplied four assists, which is not much different from the five goals and six assists that Diangana has at West Brom.
Leko is, of course, West Brom’s player too and in the long-term, it would have been more beneficial to develop him than Diangana.
However Leko’s setback has blown this contingency plan to pieces and Slaven Bilic and Luke Dowling will need to find a new way of coping with Diangana’s exit if West Ham were to recall him next month.
In other West Brom news, Bilic is predicted to make four changes to his line-up for the clash with Middlesbrough on Sunday.