Albion defender Gianni Zuiverloon today backed Shelton Martis to plug the gap left by missing centre-back Abdoulaye Meite.

Zuiverloon reckons Martis is ready to reclaim a place in the Baggies back four after suffered a loss of form earlier in the season.

Martis started the campaign as a first-team regular but his crisis of confidence allowed Meite to come in from the cold and establish himself as Jonas Olsson’s central defensive partner. But Meite is now absent for up to a month because of the Africa Cup of Nations, leaving head coach Roberto Di Matteo with a position to fill.

And full-back Zuiverloon said: “We will miss Abou but we have Shelton Martis, who has done well in the past. He came on as a sub on Saturday and was strong and did it on Monday too. I am very confident he can replace Abou.”

Albion hope to wrap up the loan signing of Gabriel Tamas in the next few days with the Romania international earmarked as Meite’s replacement.

But with Tamas unlikely to be available for Saturday’s FA Cup trip to Huddersfield, Martis could get a chance to stake his claim for a place.

However, Di Matteo could opt to switch Chile international Gonzalo Jara to centre-back with Youssouf Mulumbu returning to midfield and Martis remaining on the bench.