Albion head coach James Morrison provided a squad selection update and praised his former manager and current Blackburn gaffer Tony Mowbray ahead of Saturday’s clash with Rovers (ko 3pm).
The Baggies welcome the Lancashire outfit to The Hawthorns looking to back up Tuesday night’s impressive 2-1 win away at Wrexham.
And the meeting will pit Morrison against Mowbray, the man who brought him to B71 in the summer of 2007.
The Albion boss confirmed his side head into the fixture with just two players unavailable. Nolan Galves is out for the season with a knee injury, while Mikey Johnston is making good progress as he looks to overcome an ankle problem.
Morrison said: “There are no new injuries. Everyone is fine except for the two long-term injuries, who are where they should be in terms of their recoveries.
“Mikey Johnston is continuing to work really well too. He’s on the grass and we’re building him up week by week, so it’s a positive sign. Hopefully he can be available in the coming weeks, although I can’t put an exact time frame on it.
“Kareem Tunde has trained all week and is available for selection.
“We’d been working really well with Kareem and he was looking good in training before his knock, so we’ve just had to reset a little bit and find other ways to hurt teams.
“I think it’s credit to the lads who have filled in because I’m asking them to do jobs that aren’t necessarily to their strengths. They’ve all been good listeners and given it their all, which is all I can ask for. They’ve been doing it for the team.
“I think we’re getting into the right areas but we are missing that one-vs-one specialist, so to speak. It was a big blow to see Kareem get injured when he did because the international break was built around him so I could get him up to speed. I want that direction in the team, someone who can offer something different to what we’ve got.”
Morrison made 73 appearances for Mowbray's Albion side from 2007 to 2009, and was full of praise for his former mentor ahead of their matchup on Saturday.
He added: “I’m definitely looking forward to seeing him. It’s always a pleasure to be in his company and I love talking football with him. I still look up to him as my gaffer. It’ll be great to compete against him and I hope he gets the reception he deserves. We’ll have a good conversation after the game.
“You’ve got to remember the good times he had at the club, getting promotion, getting to the FA Cup semi-final.
“He’s doing a really good job with Blackburn at the moment and I think he’s outperforming where most people thought they would be.
“They’ve got some exciting young players, they’ve won three of their last four, and even their defeats have only been by a single goal, so it’s not going to be an easy match at all.
“But we’re looking to back up a victory, which is important in this division, and we want to get our home record back on track.”
