'It's not come in the last 24 hours...' - West Brom boss on impact of Kyle Bartley's retirement

Bartley, 34, confirmed the call to hang up his boots on Friday morning having been unable to recover from a knee problem that has plagued much of his last 12 months.

Albion are already active in the final month of the transfer window when it comes to the central defensive department, with continued interest in star stopper Torbjorn Heggem from Bologna in Italy.

More defensive movement came yesterday as fringe left-back Gianluca Frabotta exited via mutual consent after a miserable year at the club - but it is Bartley, who was the club's longest-serving player and vice-captain, whose departure surprised most.

Asked whether it affected transfer plans, head coach Ryan Mason told the Express & Star: "No, it doesn't change things because Kyle has not played a pre-season game. He's not played a game of football in a number of months now.

"We wanted to give him the best opportunity but obviously that wasn't the case. We understood that. It's not as if something's just come to us in the last 24 hours.

"We're aware of it, we're prepared for it and the most important thing is that tomorrow we go into the game ready with what we've got and we feel more than ready to go and win a game of football."

Mason, who takes charge of a competitive fixture for the first time with Saturday's visit of Blackburn, added: "It was more about what was right for him, the nature of the person, the character.

"He wanted to carry on and wanted to try but also understands that he's got to take the right decision as well and he's come to that decision.

"We respect it and like I say, we support him and we're with him in his next step, what that looks like. He's always going to be a part of this place."

Bartley, who made 232 appearances for the Baggies, is one month Mason's senior and came through the youth ranks at Arsenal, with Albion's boss on the other side of the north London divide.

"Yeah, we competed against each other in youth teams," Mason said. "Obviously he was at Arsenal, I was at Tottenham. We had a couple of games against each other and then also England at young ages we played together as well.

"So massive respect for him as a person and I know what he's all about as a player as well."