Update on West Brom midfield duo and defender boost ahead of Swansea FA Cup tie as Baggies hit by snow blow

The Baggies head to south Wales for the second time in 11 days but do so with a change in the away dugout as life after Ryan Mason begins after the former head coach was dismissed on Tuesday.

Albion will have first-team coach James Morrison in the dugout for a second interim spell after he did likewise last April. The club are working to finalise the appointment of Minnesota boss Eric Ramsay as Mason's successor.

The visitors are aiming to avoid making unwanted club history by matching an 11th straight away defeat having only succumbed to such a run once before, in 1926/27.

Morrison confirmed Mowatt's absence with a foot injury in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, which was held remotely via video link due to the snowy conditions in the West Midlands. Conditions were so heavy - with the most snowfall in a decade - that Albion were unable to hold a training session on Friday morning.

"Alex Mowatt will be out," Morrison said. "He took a bang again on his foot. He's been carrying it for a couple of weeks now so he was unlucky just to get a bang on it. But I'm pretty sure he'll be OK leading into the following weeks."

Albion may find them stretched in midfield at Championship rivals Swansea as Jayson Molumby is also rated 50-50 due to an ongoing fitness issue. It could open up an opportunity for highly-rated youngster Harry Whitwell, who was recalled this week from a successful loan at National League Forest Green Rovers.

"Jayson's having a test tomorrow," Morrison added. "It's been a gruelling period over Christmas. He's put his heart on his sleeve to get himself out there but I wouldn't expect it, he's touch-and-go."

Defender Krystian Bielik has been unable to feature due to an ankle injury sustained at Hull on December 20. He was named on the bench three times by former boss Mason despite not being ready to return.

But the experienced Pole has returned to training this week and is in contention to feature.

Morrison, meanwhile, revealed the struggle to train on Friday morning due to the tough conditions.

"We've been unable to train this morning, which is a bit disappointing," he said. "But we couldn't clear the snow. We had the heaters on overnight. Unfortunately, that was the case.

"But we're well prepared. We played them two weeks ago, so we know what's coming. We'll have a training session tomorrow and then we'll be ready.

"We tried our best. We did everything. We prepared for it. We knew that the weather was coming, so we had the heaters on. The staff were trying, but there was just too much snow."