Albion hopeful that injuries will clear
CHRIS Brunt is nearing full recovery from a hamstring problem, as Victor Anichebe continues his rehab from a groin problem with Albion's medical staff.
The Baggies duo missed Saturday's win over Aston Villa, with Georgios Samaras back in Greece due to a family bereavement, having been off work due to being ill last week
But Alan Irvine is confident of having all three players back forr the busy Christmas period, while Jonas Olsson continues his recovery from foot surgery.
Irvine said: “Victor is training with the physios. He is still with the medical team.
“He hasn’t joined in the sessions with the rest of the lads but hopefully he will do that on Thursday.
“Brunty trained yesterday, which was good.
“Jonas is still out and Sami is back in Greece for a family matter, so he has hasn’t trained, not because of the illness but because he’s had to go home for a few days.
“He was ill at the weekend. He picked it up on the Friday before the Hull game and the doctor said to keep him away and it hit him quite badly because he went a week without any training at all.
“I would expect him back for the weekend for sure, but exactly when he’ll be back I don’t know."
Commenting about Brunt and Anichebe specifically, Irvine continued: "We need all of our players available now.
“We’re going into a period that will really stretch the squad and fortunately we look as if we’ve got more players who are ready to step in now with the addition of Varela, Ideye and people like that.
“And with Brunty coming back things are beginning to look a bit healthier for us.
“I definitely want Victor available because he’s a big player for us in every way.
“It was disappointing not to have him at the weekend.
“My feeling always is that you’ve got to move on as quickly as you possibly can.
“You can dwell on the injuries and moan about them but they are out of the squad so you concentrate on what you’ve got.
“But then after the game you start to think about who you might be able to put in so I’m hoping Victor will be available because he’s difficult to play against."