Richard Chaplow is ready for a return to Albion’s starting line-up on Monday – and a fresh chance to win over the boo-boys.

Chaplow, axed for the last two matches against Norwich and Sheffield Wednesday, is the player expected to gain most from Darren Carter’s suspension.

The 22-year-old is primed for a timely return at his first club Burnley when Albion resume their hunt for promotion points on Monday night.

And it will give the £1.5m recruit from Turf Moor a swift chance to prove his critics wrong after taking the brunt of the fans’ frustration in recent weeks.

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Richard Chaplow is ready for a return to Albion’s starting line-up on Monday – and a fresh chance to win over the boo-boys.

Chaplow, axed for the last two matches against Norwich and Sheffield Wednesday, is the player expected to gain most from Darren Carter’s suspension.

The 22-year-old is primed for a timely return at his first club Burnley when Albion resume their hunt for promotion points on Monday night.

And it will give the £1.5m recruit from Turf Moor a swift chance to prove his critics wrong after taking the brunt of the fans’ frustration in recent weeks.

Manager Tony Mowbray, an avowed fan of the player, has given Chaplow his most productive spell at The Hawthorns since he was signed by former boss Bryan Robson in January 2005.

But the former England Under 21 player was taken out of the firing line after the 3-1 home defeat by Stoke City which saw the player barracked by sections of the home crowd.

Now with Carter suspended for the remainder of the scheduled season, Chaplow is set for a return at his former club as Albion’s sliding promotion challenge reaches the point of no return.

The Baggies can afford no more slip-ups during a three game run-in which also takes in a visit to Coventry a week on today and then the programme-closing home game against Barnsley.

Albion are training this weekend hoping they will still be in the top six when the Turf Moor clash kicks off but Mowbray shrugs off the significance of his team’s delayed match in order to accommodate Sky TV.

He says: “I haven’t got a crystal ball and don’t know what will happen this weekend but if we are out of the top six then it’s immaterial if we get result on Monday night.

“It doesn’t matter when you play – this is football in the 21st century and you play when you’re told to play. Sometimes you play on a Friday night – does that give you an advantage? Only when you win.

“I’m not bothered. The only time every game should be played on the last day is on the final match of the season so no-one can get an unfair advantage.”