West Brom winger Jed Wallace reveals hospitalisation in time off
West Brom winger Jed Wallace has revealed that he spent time in hospital for surgery during the Baggies’ off-season having developed appendicitis after finishing his first season at the Hawthorns.
The 29-year-old featured 46 times in the Championship last season but admitted that he didn’t have the typical time off a footballer enjoys following the conclusion of a league campaign, instead requiring surgery to recover from his illness.
However, the former Millwall winger recovered quickly enough to be put through his paces in Carlos Corberan’s pre-season, which he believes had been a more mentally challenging period than any of previous spells in his career.
Discussing his difficult period this summer with Radio 5 Live’s 72+ show (1 August), as transcribed by Birmingham Live, he said: “It’s been up and down, I had appendicitis a couple of nights into the off-season, so ended up having my appendix whipped out. Not the best summer, not what you’d expect.
“Normally it’s off to Dubai or these things that footballers do, but I had my appendix out, a bit of recovery and then we’ve been back in since the 20th of June. We’re now doing eight-week pre-seasons. So I’m more than happy that the friendlies are over and we’re ready to crack on with the season.
“I’d say mentally it’s been harder, in terms of taking on all the information that Carlos has drilled us with. We’ve worked really hard on the training ground, but also in the meeting room with the tactics board he’s been getting across his ideas, of which he’s got plenty, and hopefully, we’ll see them starting on Saturday.”
New looks Baggies
Corberan immediately had an impact on the Baggies last season when he arrived at the Hawthorns and it seems like that was only the beginning, with both Wallace and Alex Mowatt discussing how in-depth the manager has been with the tactical side of the game.
Wallace already impressed in his first season in West Bromwich, scoring six goals and assisting another eight in the Championship, so the West Brom fans can count themselves lucky that he suffered his appendicitis before preparations for the season got underway.
With a move for Josh Maja seemingly getting closer to completion, Corberan’s frontline is beginning to take a bit more shape, and with the striker’s talent for finding the back of the net, we could see the best of Wallace as a creative force this season.
If the Brighton influence that has previously been mentioned is on display from the first game of the season, it could end up being a more exciting season than most expected at the Hawthorns and hopefully, they can mount a play-off push at least.
In other West Brom news, the Baggies are hoping to beat Leeds United to the signing of Sory Kaba this summer