West Brom boss Roy Hodgson expects key pair Youssouf Mulumbu and Steven Reid to shrug off minor knocks in time for Saturday's game.
Baggies manager confident pair will make Villa date
West Brom manager Roy Hodgson expects key pair Youssouf Mulumbu and Steven Reid to shrug off minor knocks in time for Saturday's Premier League clash at Aston Villa.
The pair, both first-team regulars for the Baggies, missed training on Tuesday due to slight injuries.
But Hodgson is confident Mulumbu will shake off a knee problem and Reid will recover from Sunday's minor operation on his fractured hand before the weekend.
Gabriel Tamas remains a doubt for the trip to Villa Park as he continues to recover from the thigh injury which kept him out of last weekend's derby victory over Wolves.
Not serious
"Tamas is still injured," Hodgson told Albion's
official website. "Mulumbu didn't train yesterday but it's not a serious thing for the weekend. He has a slight knee problem.
"Reid has had a minor procedure to do with this slight problem with his hand. He's had something inserted to stabilise it.
"He hasn't trained either - but he will be okay for the weekend."
Billy Jones will be keen to keep his spot at left-back for the trip to Villa after impressing on his Premier League debut against Wolves last weekend.
Hodgson explained he only had to go off five minutes before the end due to cramp, adding: "It was an important occasion for him and he didn't want to miss it or mess up at any stage.
"As a result, I'm sure the anxiety that makes the adrenaline flow that bit faster and doing a lot of running in the game resulted in a touch of cramp."
Hodgson has been impressed by Paul Scharner's attitude after the Austria midfielder was dropped to the bench for three games prior to the Wolves encounter.
Reaction
"He's reacted very well," he said. "He's in a situation where for many games his position has been unchallenged and he will have to accept that this year it won't be like that.
"He does, and he has reacted in the right way. He has been determined to show me on the training field, and by his footballing actions, that I should still be counting on him and looking to use him."
Scharner added: "After three games out of the team I was very happy to be in the starting XI.
"It is football, the gaffer said that we have some very good midfield players and it is always tough because if you don't perform well he will make changes."
