This season, West Brom, like every other club in the EFL, will face player absences at different times. These tough and demanding 46-game campaigns test players’ physical and mental toughness as they attempt to persevere through them and emerge victorious.

Away from absence due to health and fitness, there is the risk of suspension too. A red card will see you miss matches immediately, while accumulating yellow cards over a period of time also leads to a ban. Albion and Carlos Corberan will be looking to cope with the testing calendar ahead of them in 2023/24 and maintain as healthy a group as possible over the course of the coming months.

This is the state of play in the treatment room at the moment…

Injury: You knew that Swift had an issue with around 20 minutes to go of Albion’s recent defeat at Blues. He hobbled off, struggling to walk freely, and was accompanied by medical staff as he made his way down the tunnel. Days later, Albion’s fears were confirmed – Swift had suffered a calf strain and would be missing for the next six weeks at least.

What Corberan said: “Swift should be ready for the second week of the international break if they keep progressing how they are right now.”

Estimated return date: Swift will be among the first players on this list ack in action, all being well, and could face either Cardiff City or Leicester after the international break.

Josh Maja

Injury: Ankle injury. Maja needed helping off the pitch at the end of the goalless draw at Bristol City and supporters spotted him leaving Ashton Gate in a protective boot. He’ll be out for eight weeks from the day of the game.

What Corberan said: “The idea is that both recover to training during the international break. Normally Maja should be ready before Swift in the first week.”

Estimated return date: Maja will hopefully be a part of the squad to take on Ipswich after the international break.

Adam Reach

Injury: Quad injury. Reach limped off at Burton in pre-season having suffered a recurrence of the quad issue that had struck him down in April.

What Corberan said: “With Reach, it was different. When we were building our squad in the summer he was a part of the group, and unfortunately he suffered the recurrence of the injury he suffered last season.

“From when I arrived at the club, he is a player who – especially before the first injury – was having minutes in the first team and I consider him to be an interesting player. He’ll be one more option we are going to have, which will increase our possibilities with the squad and for me the competitive level of the team.”

Estimated return date: Reach has undergone surgery and will be sidelined until December at the very earliest.

Daryl Dike

Injury: Achilles. Dike suffered the injury in the first half of Albion’s last win at Stoke City, and he will now be missing for a number of months after the third serious injury of his 15-month spell at Albion. He has since undergone successful surgery.

What Tony Strudwick said: “The plan was to get Daryl back around November, December time,” Strudwick added. “He’s progressing well, his operation went really well. He went to the States. He’s back in, his attitude and application has been fantastic.”

Corberan added: “He is taking and getting his fitness conditions, you need to manage very well how much time he is on the pitch, but he is working well and we are keeping the plan how it was in the beginning. It means he will one of the options more in the squad, if he keeps progressing well, at the end of December.”

Estimated return date: It’s hard to know exactly when Dike will be back wearing an Albion shirt, but what is for sure is that it won’t be until December at the absolute earliest. With such injuries though, it could be that we’ve seen the last of Dike in 2023.

Martin Kelly

Injury: Kelly was sent on loan to Wigan for the rest of last season in January in order to play regularly again, and he turned in a man of the match performance on his debut in a goalless draw with Blackburn, but he suffered a serious knee injury towards the end of the game and required surgery and a spell on the sidelines.

What Carlos Corberan said: “Now he is making his recovery. Last Friday, for example, was the first day he was going to work with one of our technical members of staff, so we are helping him in this process of recovery. After this he’ll be one player more, knowing he is going to be eight months without playing football. It makes it more difficult, of course, for him to be ready to play.”

Estimated return date: Kelly is expected to return to first-team training in the coming weeks.