By Anthony Onifade

20th Nov, 2023 | 7:10pm

West Brom defender Martin Kelly spotted back in first-team training after months out

Senior West Brom player Martin Kelly may well be closing in on a return to action after footage emerged of him back training with the first team.

The 33-year-old defender sustained a serious knee injury on loan at Wigan Athletic in February and has not played a single game since.

It’s been reported that Kelly may not return until the new year but the club posted on their official Twitter account (20 November) showing the former Liverpool defender receiving joyous slaps from his teammates in training after his return.

The tweet read: “Great to see you back in first-team training, Martin Kelly.”

Future uncertain

Kelly cruelly sustained an injury in his first game for Wigan after joining on loan in January.

Departing The Hawthorns on a temporary basis was supposed to provide the veteran defender with a chance to kickstart his career, but the opposite was true.

It’s certainly another boost at the club with the senior defender set to return to action before long after being on the outside looking in for eight months, but there’s still uncertainty regarding his future.

Corberan hinted [Express & Star, 29 September] that the defensive veteran may well be loaned out in the January transfer window and with his contract running to a close in June 2024, it won’t be a surprise to see West Brom cut their losses then.

The Spaniard is well-stocked in defence right now which certainly leaves Kelly short of a place in the West Brom team in the near future.

But whether the Baggies will have any potential takers in the new year given he’s just returned from injury is incredibly uncertain and he could yet remain on the fringes until next summer.

In other West Brom news, the Baggies are reportedly closer than ever before under Guochuan Lai to a takeover