Tony Mowbray delivers damning verdict on unused West Brom forgotten man

It has been a season to forget for the Italian left-back, who checked into The Hawthorns last summer on a three-year contract from Juventus in his homeland.

Frabotta, 25, has not started a single Championship fixture this season and has been restricted an hour of league football for the club - and even those came across two slightly longer cameos.

But the left-sided defender, who was bought for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal, has been mostly an unused substitute or absent from Albion's squad all season. He was recently given a rare run-out with the under-21s with head coach Mowbray keen to run the rule - but the boss's assessment is that he is not ready to turn to Frabotta.

"Frabotta ... I just can't see how Frabotta's up to speed and ready to play in our first team at this moment," Mowbray said of the Italian, who remained an unused sub against Hull on Saturday with centre-back Torbjorn Heggem preferred on the left.

"Yes he's on the bench. But he hasn't kicked a ball in anger since I've been here. I'm not sure how much he played earlier in the season.

"I don't feel as if he's match-ready. I could be sitting here saying 'the left-back, he wasn't up to speed'. So then why did you play him? I didn't play him because in my opinion he's not up to speed.

"I asked him to play an under-21s game six weeks ago and he looked fine. But I feel we're at the stage of the season where it's a big, big call for him to start a match when he's not kicked a ball all season."

Frabotta turned out for Richard Beale's under-21s against Wolves in February.

He was brought to The Hawthorns in August amid a flurry of late window moves after Albion had sold first-team players, among them left-back Conor Townsend, to help with financial matters.

Callum Styles checked in not long after Frabotta's arrival. Styles was billed as a versatile squad player but has made left-back his own with Heggem moved into the middle. Styles currently has a calf strain.

Frabotta, who was a former team-mate of Cristiano Ronaldo and made 18 senior appearances for the Turin giants, has started just once for Albion, in the miserable EFL Cup defeat at fourth tier Fleetwood in August.

Despite not a year into his three-year deal his future at the club is uncertain and there is a likelihood Albion will look to move on this summer.