Albion have stepped up their hunt for midfield signings after captain Jonathan Greening was ruled out for up to six weeks.

Scans on the skipper’s knee confirmed medial ligament damage and he will be sidelined for at least a month – his first injury lay-off in four and a half years at The Hawthorns.

Mowbray admitted midfield reinforcements are now his main transfer priority but insisted he has not changed his targets because of his mounting injury problems.

The Baggies boss said: “Over the weekend there were a few phonecalls made to test the availability of players. That’s been going on for a while but it’s probably intensified. But we haven’t changed any targets or put any new faces in the frame.

“We are still chasing the same players who, hopefully, would have come in regardless of injuries. We’ll see this week whether we can get any business done.”

Udinese midfielder Christian Obodo remains high on Mowbray’s target list but the Italian club are reluctant to let the Nigerian leave on loan.

The Baggies have also enquired with Paris Saint Germain about Congolese midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu, who has stated he is keen to try his luck in the Premier League.

Robert Koren, who was linked with a £2.5m bid from Fulham, looks likely to switch to his favoured central midfield role to replace Greening.

But Mowbray knows the injury to his captain is a blow for both club and player.

The manager said: “Jonathan tends to play every week, whether it’s a Carling Cup game or a major game in the Premier League. He is integral to the way we play and the way we want to the team to function.

“Losing him is a big blow to us. He tells me it’s his first injury in 14 years so psychologically it’s a big blow to him, because he has to deal with the fact he is injured.

“But let’s hope in a few weeks time he is back out there.”