Staggering Daryl Dike and Josh Maja injury claim made in newspaper amid West Brom woes
Daryl Dike and Josh Maja have not made as big an impact for West Brom as they would have liked.
Dike has been sidelined for West Brom since sustaining a thigh injury ahead of Albion’s opening Championship win over Blackburn Rovers.
Maja was tipped to leave West Brom after the summer deadline. But ended up remaining at the club for what looks like the rest of the season.
But after a difficult two weeks, it seems Ryan Mason’s month could go from bad to worse.
Daryl Dike and Josh Maja missed almost four seasons with injuries
West Brom encountered their second defeat of the Championship season away at Middlesbrough on 19 September.
This comes after Albion suffered a 1-0 loss to Derby County at The Hawthorns, which makes it back-to-back defeats in the league for Mason.
While Maja came off the bench on both occasions, injuries have meant that the Baggies boss is limited in the attack.
The 26-year-old English-born Nigerian international netted 10 goals in his first 16 Championship games before a torn calf cut his season short. Meanwhile, Dike has been sidelined with various injuries since signing for Albion in 2022.
As a result, the pair have lost a combined 1,162 days and 179 games because of injuries. This is almost four whole seasons, according to journalist Chris Dunlavy via Football League Paper (21 September, page seven).
- Read more: Ryan Mason shares update on Daryl Dike and four others as West Brom ace undergoes surgery
Why West Brom need Daryl Dike and Josh Maja
West Brom’s Premier League promotion hopes are slowly slipping away after back-to-back defeats in the Championship.
It is clear as day that one of the reasons for this is the Baggies finishing in front of goal.
| vs Derby County | Attacking statistic | vs Middlesbrough |
| 1.15 | Expected goals | 0.95 |
| 1 | Big chances | 2 |
| 18 | Total shots | 15 |
| – | Goalkeeper saves | 2 |
| 11 | Corner kicks | 2 |
| 595 | Passes | 600 |
Albion has two issues going forward. The first is creating quality chances for their attackers. The Baggies took a combined 33 shots against Derby and Middlesbrough, but only created three big chances.
The second is limited clinical finishing when in front of the goal. Aune Heggebo netted the only goal in Albion’s defeat to Middlesbrough – that was his first Championship goal of the season. There is clearly an issue when your main centre-forward nets his first on the sixth matchday.
As such, the return of Dike and Maja would likely pump some life into this West Brom side. While the season is still long, the Baggies seem desperate for some attacking reinforcements.
Enjoyed this article? Stay connected with all the latest West Bromwich Albion news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content by following us on our new Instagram account – @westbromnews247