West Brom defender Neil Clement will be sidelined until at least January after undergoing knee surgery.
Defender facing lengthy spell on sidelines
West Brom defender Neil Clement will be sidelined until at least January after undergoing further knee surgery.
Clement suffered an initial injury during the pre-season friendly with Real Mallorca in August and was forced to go under the knife on Wednesday.
The former Chelsea player has already had to recover from a serious problem in his other knee, making a successful comeback to play a major role in the Baggies' promotion to the Premier League.
Sympathy
Albion boss Tony Mowbray said: "Neil had an operation yesterday on his knee, which will put him out for quite a while.
"I won't sit here and tell you how many months exactly. I would suggest it will be the New Year, although I would not like to set that in stone because I am not a medical person.
"But it was decided yesterday that surgery was the best option and it will be a few months at least before he is back playing.
"You feel sympathy because Neil worked so hard to get back. I'm not sure whether he over-did things pre-season or whether the hard grounds at that time affected him.
"But it is not the same knee as before. It is not like it is a recurring injury and we wish him a speedy recover."
Focus
Having been down this road once before, Mowbray believes Clement has the mental strength needed to bounce back for a second time.
He added: "Of course we are disappointed for him but Neil has been through this sort of thing before and I'm sure he will come back again.
"Obviously the day after the operation he will be feeling pretty low, but once you get back into the gym and amongst the players, you have got to have the focus.
"I'm sure that Neil will have that focus in terms of picking a date for when he is going to get fit and ready to start playing again."
