Pete Hanson

Sat 16 December 2023 8:40, UK

West Brom face Stoke City on Sunday (17 December) and their opponents have been handed a double injury boost ahead of the clash.

Midfield duo Wouter Burger and Daniel Johnson were both taken off during the second half of their 1-1 draw against Swansea City on Tuesday (12 December), with Johnson scoring Stoke’s goal from the penalty spot.

However, Stoke caretaker boss Paul Gallagher expects both to be fine when his side travel to The Hawthorns.

“He’ll (Burger) be fine, it was just cramp he put that much into the game,” Gallagher said in quotes reported by the Stoke Sentinel (15 December).

“The same with Daniel Johnson. He was off ill for a few days and came back and put in a great performance so he was probably going to go down with cramp.”

Crack on

There is no doubt that Stoke, who are struggling in the lower echelons of the table, would have been weaker without two of their main players in the form of Burger and Johnson when they travel to the Baggies on Sunday.

But, in truth, no one wants to see any player injured, you always want to face a team at their strongest and go toe-to-toe battling it out for three precious points.

Carlos Corberan knows only too well how frustrating it is to have key players sat on the sidelines and there plenty on the treatment table he would love to have available for selection against Stoke this weekend.

It is time to just crack on now, though. Having bounced back from consecutive defeats to Leicester City and Sunderland by beating Rotherham United last time out, the Baggies will just want to focus on getting another three points on the board regardless of who is in the opposition XI.

In other West Brom news, Jayson Molumby could quite the Baggies in January amid a Carlos Corberan “decision”.