West Brom pair James Morrison and Nacer Chadli still some way off returning, admits Alan Pardew
Baggies boss Alan Pardew has admitted that injured playmakers James Morrison and Nacer Chadli are still some way off returning.
Morrison has been out since September with an Achilles injury and Chadli has only played 16 minutes of football since October after suffering a recurring thigh problem.
Both midfielders played a big part in last season’s top-half finish, but even though Morrison is due back first, it’s now unlikely either will be seen until mid-March.
Jake Livermore, who picked up a hamstring injury against Liverpool in the FA Cup, is expected to miss the next two games before his return in the crucial home match against Huddersfield at the end of the month.
“Morrison is still some way off and Chadli is a long way off,” admitted Pardew. “He’s not out on the training ground yet.
"Jake is a while away. I can’t see him making the FA Cup game (against Southampton) but maybe the week after.”
Albion have been stung by a number of injuries in recent weeks, but Pardew does have skipper Jonny Evans, left-back Kieran Gibbs, and midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak returning for Monday night's match against Chelsea.
Hal Robson-Kanu remains a doubt with his hamstring problem, but Pardew is pleased to have three influential players back in the ranks.
“It balances us up a little better and the form they were in, Grzegorz, Evans, Gibbs, was such that losing them was a big blow,” he said.
“We need to put some points on the board and our delivery of performance and level of play, right up to Liverpool, was probably the best we’ve been.
“But to suffer four injuries in those two games like we did - three from Liverpool and one from Man City - was costly against Southampton.”
An injury-ravaged Albion team lost 3-2 to the Saints last weekend, leaving them bottom of the table, but Pardew is confident they can bounce back at Stamford Bridge.
“That defeat was probably more of a disappointment than anything else I’ve had since I was manager here,” he admitted.
“So we said ‘OK, it’s done, let’s move on and get back to where we were not long ago’.
“We can’t change it so we have to get back to what we’re doing well.
“The boys have responded to that. They trained well all week and we take it into Monday.”
