West Brom return to training today, Daryl Dike to be managed closely
West Brom will manage striker Daryl Dike closely after his “nightmare” spell on the sidelines due to injury problems, according to a report from the Express and Star.
The Baggies will return to training on 21 November, and all eyes will be on Dike, who completed his comeback from more than three months on the sidelines with a thigh injury prior to the World Cup break.
West Brom paid around £7million to sign the striker in the January window, but his game time has been limited by a series of injury problems.
Considering his injury background, Carlos Corberan will specifically manage the intensity of the training for the striker moving forward.
“He is still one young player with a lot of potential in front of him,” Corberan said, as quoted by Express and Star.
“He’s one player we need to manage very well the intensity in training and the number of training [sessions] in a row.
“At the same time, he’s one player we need to evaluate very well to work specifically. He’s one player that the more time he trains, the more time he competes in a row, is when we can see the skills he has as a player.”
Competition
The Baggies have shown signs of improvement under Corberan, and the return of Dike couldn’t have come at a better time.
The 22-year-old came off the bench in stoppage time during the 2-0 win against Stoke, and the fans expect him to feature regularly after the World cup break.
The Athletic’s Elias Burke reported on 14 November that Dike will be given preference above Brandon Thomas-Asante after the World Cup, but nothing will satisfy the boss if the duo can both deliver.
This is the biggest challenge for Corberan to get Dike fit for the rest of the season. It will be interesting to see if the duo can form a reliable partnership, as surely Dike will relish the competition with Thomas-Asante.
Things are looking a bit brighter at the moment and what it was under Steve Bruce, but there’s a long way to go for the club to think of a Championship play-off.
At the moment, the focus should be on getting better every game and forgetting about the league table for a while.
In other West Brom news, Josh Griffiths’ purple patch at Portsmouth could push David Button out of West Brom