Confirmed: West Brom star back available for Stoke clash after missing three games
Slaven Bilic has confirmed that West Brom defender Nathan Ferguson is ready to return against Stoke City on Monday evening.
The 19-year-old has been absent since being forced off in the 2-0 defeat against Middlesbrough at the Hawthorns in December.
That was midway through this bad run of form that the Baggies are in currently, with their last win being in the FA Cup against Charlton.
Bilic confirmed the news on Thursday, and he couldn’t hide his delight to have the flying right-back available once against Stoke.
“Nathan will be fit,” he told the Birmingham Mail.
“He was training last week on the same pitch, but differently. I was watching him a bit, and he was doing everything.
“Then he joined us. He’s back in full training. He’s a naturally fit player anyway, he’s sharp and has a good physicality.”
Ferguson has been phenomenal this season, starting 20 games for the Baggies. The defender has completed 2.4 tackles per game according to WhoScored.
That is the most in the entire West Brom squad, meaning he has completed more than the impressive Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley this season.
Darnell Furlong hasn’t done much wrong in Ferguson’s absence, but Bilic would be smart to instantly swap the pair when they travel to Stoke on Monday.
In other West Brom news, ‘Of course’ – Bilic confirms West Brom interest in £6m attacker