Matt Phillips may have played last game for West Brom already after crushing injury news – Chris Lepkowski
Chris Lepkowski has suggested Matt Phillips may have already played his last game for West Brom in light of the news that he is now out for at least four months with injury.
Carlos Corberan revealed in his prematch press conference on 6 December that the versatile wide man’s hamstring is torn and he is now set for a long time out of action, having limped off in the 2-1 defeat by Leicester at the weekend.
With the 32-year-old’s contract currently set to expire in the summer Lepkowski reacted via Twitter to raise the unfortunate prospect that Phillips’ last appearance could be the heartbreaking defeat at The Hawthorns on Saturday 2 December.
Lepkowski wrote: “4 months out, contract up in 2024… hopefully not the last we have seen of Matt Phillips. However…”
Realism
At this stage neither Phillips nor West Brom have any choice but to focus on his recovery and hope he can return to contribute significantly before the end of the campaign.
He hasn’t missed a Championship fixture under Corberan up until now this season, with only the win at Cardiff City last week (28 November) not a start in that time.
So all things being equal the manager surely wants the Scotland international kept around for the longer-term, but after such a big blow there are now so many variables involved.
Financially West Brom are backed into a corner as things stand, so how that might affect a contract extension as it is could go either way, but with a much-needed takeover hoped to be over the line by then it could free up the Baggies to bring Phillips back if the manager wants him.
However, a serious injury at this stage brings into question whether he will back to his best by the time the contract question becomes now or never.
If after 248 Albion appearances this is how the former QPR man’s time at The Hawthorns ends it would a heartbreaking conclusion, but there is surely now a far greater element of doubt involved in light of the injury news than there already was to the situation.
In other West Brom news, every player in the squad effectively in the shop window for January as no serious offers can be ignored.