West Brom only managed to secure a point in their latest Championship match against Middlesbrough which ended 1-1 after Grady Diangana managed to grab an equaliser following Josh Coburn’s opening goal at The Hawthorns, leaving Valerien Ismael’s side eight points behind league leaders AFC Bournemouth and six behind Fulham in second place.
Despite managing to salvage a point in the match, the Baggies suffered an unfortunate injury blow in the early stages of the match that will surely worry a number of West Brom fans.
What’s the news?
After 19 minutes, West Brom defender Matt Clarke was taken off the pitch to be replaced by Kyle Bartley after Clarke suffered a head injury following a mid-air clash with Middlesbrough’s goalscorer Coburn.
According to Birmingham Live, when Clarke was being attended to by West Brom’s medical staff, the defender had his jaw bandaged up and had his time on the pitch come to an end as a result.
It remains to be seen how long the defender will now be out for.
Fans surely worried
So far this season, the 25-year-old, who is currently valued at £2.7m according to Transfermarkt, has played in nine of West Brom’s Championship games, racking up an average of 2.8 clearances per game, 1.4 interceptions per game and 1.3 tackles per game in that time, showing how much of a useful defensive outlet he is for the Baggies.
Consequently, to lose him to injury will come as a mighty blow that will surely worry fans at the Hawthorns.
Is Matt Clarke’s West Brom’s best defender?
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Consider how West Brom still have fellow centre-back, Dara O’Shea, out with an ankle fracture and isn’t set to return to action until February and the fact that Bartley is currently at risk of picking up a suspension on four yellow cards, it only adds to the severity of Albion’s fresh blow. Thus, everyone at the club will undoubtedly be hoping that Clarke’s injury is not a serious one that will keep him out of action for a significant period of time.
Given how West Brom now have a two-week break before their next league game against Huddersfield Town later this month after the latest round of international fixtures, hopefully this will provide Clarke with enough time to recover and get himself ready to feature for the Baggies again as they aim to close the gap between themselves and Fulham.
Ismael’s side have conceded more goals (15) than both Fulham (14) and Bournemouth (10), so it’s safe to say they’ll need Clarke fit and available by the time the break concludes. If they don’t, supporters will undoubtedly be concerned about their chances.
In other news: Forget Diangana: West Brom “leader” with 83% pass accuracy was Ismael’s hero vs Boro – opinion