Carlos Corberan gives injury updates on West Brom duo Erik Pieters and Semi Ajayi
Carlos Corberan has provided updates on the fitness of key West Brom defensive duo Erik Pieters and Semi Ajayi as both have trained with the squad ahead of the trip to Preston on Saturday 30 September.
Pieters had been an injury concern after being subbed off in the 77th minute of West Brom’s 0-0 draw with Millwall, although the boss eased worried at the time claiming it was just a tight muscle, and he has since been back in training.
Ajayi, meanwhile, is expected to return to full training on Friday 29 September, having spent the two previous days working separately with the physios after taking a knock to his ankle against Millwall.
Speaking to the official West Brom website on 29 September, Corberan provided an update on their fitness, revealing: “We will train on Friday with every single player, apart from the players who have been out for a long period of time.
“The only player who hasn’t completed a full and normal week is Semi Ajayi. Erik Pieters has missed just one training session this week.
“Semi Ajayi will train as normal on Friday. The two days previous to that he had been training separately with the physios because he took a knock to his ankle in the final moments of our match with Millwall.”
Good news from the training ground
The fact that both defensive players are expected to return to the team for Saturday’s clash at Deepdale is extremely positive news for everybody associated with West Brom. They will need to have as strong a team available as possible if they want to end Preston’s unbeaten run.
Last time this duo was forced to miss a game came in the defeat to Huddersfield at The Hawthorns, with the visitors snatching a last-minute winner. Corberan had slightly tweaked his system to make up for the losses, which contributed to their poor performance.
In the 4-2 victory over Middlesbrough at The Hawthorns, both Pieters and Ajayi played 90 minutes on either side of a solid back three, allowing Darnell Furlong and Matt Phillips to push further forward as wing-backs and create further up the field.
The absence of both players against Huddersfield appeared to be the inspiration behind Carlos Corberan’s decision to change his formation in favour of a back four, with the aforementioned wing-backs dropping deeper as full-backs, and Conor Townsend replacing Phillips in that role, limiting their influence in the attacking phase of play.
Both players returning to the side should allow consistency both in performances and the system after the 0-0 draw with Millwall last time out.
In other West Brom news, the club could be set for a share of £88million after a new TV windfall.