"Special" West Brom man requires no extra motivation – boss

Two serious ankle injuries, one at Bristol City in September and one at Sunderland in December which required surgery, have left Maja kicking his heels in the treatment room this season.

But the former Sunderland, Fulham and Bordeaux frontman is back in time for the final games of the Championship campaign and, should Albion seal their place, next month’s play-offs.

In Maja, head coach Corberan sees a player with a huge level of maturity and desire and does not believe the striker needed a long-term injury lay-off to provide added levels of determination.

“I don’t think he needed this, if I give you my opinion,” Corberan said.

“When we received him, the first feeling I had in my first conversations was he was a very mature lad, very honest with himself, with his strengths and weaknesses, with an amazing mentality to work and improve and an amazing desire to be the best he can be.”

Corberan, though, revealed Albion’s fitness and medical staff have tried to use Maja’s absence to benefit the striker by improving aspects of his physical game.

Maja has still started just once for his club, has made two cameo displays since his return, and played an hour with the under-21s.

“I was finding a very mature footballer,” added Corberan. “We have tried to use this injury, to work in the latter part of the injury, on things that maybe when you are playing you cannot work on, things he needed to physically improve that he could work on.

“We have tried to use his injury to improve him as a player without the game exposure.”

Maja is still poised to play a big part of Albion under Corberan beyond the summer and the Spanish boss stressed the fitness frustration has done nothing to change the club’s excitement for the striker, who penned a three-year contract at The Hawthorns last summer.

“I think he’s a player that made us feel excited when we brought him to the club, because for me he was a talent in England in his previous clubs with Sunderland and Fulham in the Premier League,” said the Baggies boss.

“And after he found difficulty and moved to France to play there and challenge himself, because of the different language, and he used the opportunity very well to grow as a player.

“He comes back here with a desire to put all of his football and all his improvement in England again, so it made me feel excited in the summer with his quality, desire and maturity.

“But unfortunately the injuries stopped his progress or immediate impact – it doesn’t mean it has decreased our level of belief in him, because I think he’s a special player that with our position and possibilities last summer we understood he was the best player we could achieve. That’s why he’s here.

“He is a player we are of course looking forward to seeing more, to work more time and seeing him more in games.”