View: Bilic confirms West Brom ace returning to training, 26y/o deserves to keep spot
Slaven Bilic has recently confirmed that West Brom defender Kieran Gibbs has returned to training after recovering from an injury.
The Baggies boss claimed that he is walking on eggshells with some of his absent players, and is being extra careful with when they return to action after their setbacks.
“Kieran started training with us on Friday,” he told the Birmingham Mail.
“With Kieran, we want to find the balance – we want him back, but it already happened three times so that’s why he’s starting with us today otherwise he could’ve started five, six, seven days ago.”
Conor Townsend stepped in for the FA Cup victory at West Ham United earlier in the month and scored the winner at the London Stadium with an unstoppable drive from the edge of the box.
The 26-year-old was then unlucky to lose his spot in the 2-1 defeat against Cardiff City, with Nathan Ferguson filling in despite a deadline day move to Crystal Palace collapsing.
Townsend rightfully came back in for the 2-0 victory against Luton Town on Saturday, and once again proved his worth at the Hawthorns.
According to WhoScored, Townsend has averaged more tackles per game this season. West Brom have struggled to keep clean sheets this season – having the worst goals conceded record in the top-five.
Concentrating solely on the defence, Bilic would have seen an improvement against the Hatters – no coincidence that Townsend was involved.
Even if Gibbs is returning to full fitness, Townsend has proved that he is more than deserving of his spot in the side moving forward.
In other West Brom news, Kevin Phillips has given his thoughts on when the Baggies appointed Slaven Bilic as manager