West Brom already have a depleted squad, and the upcoming AFCON tournament could make it even more so.
West Brom, throughout the whole of 2023, have had to deal with numerous injury blows.
Carlos Corberan has seen the bulk of his first-team spend at least some period of time on the sidelines, though it’s certain players who keep on picking up lengthy injuries.
Daryl Dike is still returning from his second long-term injury since joining the Baggies in January 2022, with Josh Maja having recently undergone surgery on yet another ankle ligament injury, whilst Matt Philips is facing another extended period of time on the sidelines.
And AFCON next month looks set to take some players away from The Hawthorns as well.
Who’s potentially going to AFCON?
Corberan would’ve known that he’d potentially be losing Semi Ajayi and Grady Diangana to AFCON next month.
But it’s recently been revealed that Brandon Thomas-Asante has been included in the provisional 55-man Ghana squad for AFCON, in an unexpected blow for the Baggies.
Corberan then looks set to be with the barebones of a first-team for the start of 2024, and without a single striker should Dike not make a return in the coming weeks.
Time for Corberan to unleash ‘quality’ Reyes Cleary
The 19-year-old Reyes Cleary is someone that West Brom fans have heard a lot about, but have rarely seen.
After rising through the ranks at West Brom, the attacker looked set to make an impression at the end of last season and going into this season.
But a long-term muscle injury kept him on the sidelines for much of 2023.
He’s recently made his return for the U21s and he was on the bench for West Brom’s Championship clash vs Coventry City earlier in the month, though he still awaits his first first-team appearance of the season.
Academy coach Richard Beale has described Cleary as a player with plenty of ‘quality’.
With finances tight though, and with Corberan looking set to be extremely light on attacking options in early 2024, now could be the perfect time to give Cleary some game time in the Championship.
He has two Championship appearances to his name and in the brief glimpses that fans have seen of the Englishman, he looks like a very lively and tricky player, with physical attributes similar to those of Thomas-Asante.
If Corberan can bring him in against Middlesbrough this weekend and potentially give him a few minutes towards the end of the game, then more and more game time ahead of AFCON, it could give Corberan a useful option for when the likes of Thomas-Asante and Diangana leave.
Either way, Corberan will need some new faces on the pitch next month.