Zoltan Gera is all geared up for Albion return

Steve Clarke today hinted that Zoltan Gera is pushing hard for an Albion recall and admitted the Hawthorns hero is "unlucky" to be on the sidelines.

The Hungary international returns to former club Fulham tomorrow hoping for a first Premier League appearance since scoring a stunning goal in the win over Liverpool.

And Clarke has revealed Gera was left out of the draw at Tottenham and the win over Everton as he is being eased back from the cruciate ligament injury that ruled him out for most of last season.

"He's very unlucky," admitted Clarke.

"If I'm honest, he exceeded my expectations over pre-season and he put himself in a position where I thought he was ready to play in the first game.

"I thought he would play a lot of it on adrenaline, which he did because it was such a big occasion for him, and the week after in training he dipped a little bit, which I half expected.

"Since then I've tried to look after him and he's trained well.

"He has been away on international duty, he's represented his country twice and the little injury scare he had wasn't a big issue and he's back in pushing for selection again, which makes my job difficult."

Clarke is sweating on the fitness of Steven Reid, who is fighting to overcome a hamstring problem in time to play at Craven Cottage.

Winger Jerome Thomas, who has yet to figure this season, has been ruled out for another two to three weeks after undergoing minor knee surgery.

"The idea is to get all the niggles and try to settle them all down and basically start again and then try to get him back in the squad," said Clarke.