West Bromwich Albion rocked by Chris Brunt injury blow

Brunt could miss up to seven of the Baggies' remaining 10 Premier League matches after being diagnosed with a damaged medial knee ligament.

And midfielder Claudio Yacob and right-back Steven Reid are also doubts for the visit to the Liberty Stadium with Diego Lugano already ruled out and Billy Jones touch and go.

But it is the loss of Brunt that will hit Mel hardest with the skipper having been one of Albion's better players in the Spaniard's disappointing seven games in charge so far.

The Northern Ireland international is also an influential figure in the Baggies dressing room.

A six-week recovery period would rule Brunt out of the games against Swansea, Hull, Cardiff, Norwich, Tottenham and Manchester City while he could also miss the potentially crucial trip to Sunderland if it is rearranged for during his lay-off after it was postponed earlier this month.

Brunt was injured when he twisted awkwardly in a seemingly innocuous collision with two Manchester United players on Saturday.

Mel could also face a major headache on Saturday at right-back, where Reid has joined Jones on the treatment table after injuring his knee in the 3-0 defeat to United.

Jones is progressing well in his recovery from a torn hamstring but both men are doubts for the clash with the Swans, potentially leaving Mel without a recognised right-back.

Yacob suffered a tight hamstring shortly before receiving a wound from the studs of Marouane Fellaini against United.

It is the hamstring injury that forced him to leave the field before half time and that has made him doubtful for the game at the Liberty Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Baggies have confirmed that Lugano will be out for another three or four weeks after suffering a similar injury to Brunt's while on international duty with Uruguay last week.

The centre-back has fallen out of favour anyway in recent weeks, with Craig Dawson preferred as a substitute.

But his absence could become a bigger issue if Jonas Olsson picks up a 10th yellow card of the season, resulting in a two-match suspension.