What Alex Palmer messaged Conor Townsend after West Brom win vs Rotherham

Conor Townsend made his emotional return to competitive West Bromwich Albion action on Saturday evening.

James Morrison and his men travelled to Rotherham for the first round of the Carabao Cup, running out easy 4-1 winners.

While there were plenty of stories from South Yorkshire, Townsend's may take the cherry on the cake.

Jimmy-Jay Morgan scored twice on his competitive debut, while Felix Horn Myhre also found the net only 10 minutes after coming off the bench.

Despite that, most of the smiles were directed at Townsend.

After leaving for Ipswich two years ago, the left-back has made his way back to The Hawthorns after a difficult year.

Conor Townsend makes emotional return

Not just because of his return to the Albion, but it signals the end of his recovery from a devastating ACL injury.

Townsend suffered the blow in pre-season with Ipswich in August 2025, and he missed the entirety of last season.

Then came his return to West Brom.

After continuing his rehab and building fitness, Townsend made his first competitive appearance for 16 months at Rotherham.

Taking to Instagram after the game, the defender couldn't hide his delight at the milestone of his career.

"It’s been a while," he started. "Over 16 months since my last competitive game, a lot of hard work gone into that moment of being back out there.

"Couldn’t be happier. The lads were brilliant."

Alex Palmer leads delight at Conor Townsend return

In somewhat of a trend, Townsend was one of many to swap West Brom for Ipswich in recent years.

Alex Palmer, Dara O'Shea and Darnell Furlong all did the same.

All three celebrated his return to the pitch with the Baggies on his Instagram post as well.

Palmer wrote: "Top mate," with a blue heart.

Interestingly, the goalkeeper has been linked with a return to The Hawthorns as well.

Max O'Leary started in goal against Rotherham, but the links to other goalkeepers, mainly Palmer, refuse to go away.

Morrison will know which areas of his squad that he wants to strengthen, as West Brom prepare for the season to get underway next week.

Townsend is back, will Palmer follow?