Express & Star

Tony Pulis admits he regrets his description of Jake Livermore's rest

Tony Pulis has admitted he should have kept quiet after his clumsy wording over Jake Livermore's rest sparked fears among Albion supporters.

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Jake Livermore. (AMA)

The Baggies boss said Livermore was 'mentally jaded' and revealed that he gave his vice-captain two games off to stop him falling into a 'deeper hole'.

However, the phrasing worried Baggies fans because Livermore has previously suffered with the grief of losing his newborn son.

The former Hull midfielder took to Twitter earlier this week to reassure fans that 'all is good in the Livermore household' and that the rest was mainly due to physical tiredness.

The England international is back in training today and will be available for Monday night's trip to Arsenal.

And Pulis held his hands up this morning and admitted he had learned his lesson.

"Jake will be okay," he said. "Coming out and saying he was tired mentally and physically – I should have just said he had a hamstring injury and that would have stopped all the press and speculation of this and that.

"Maybe I’ve learned my lesson. Everything’s fine, he just needed a break. A couple of days off to dust himself down and clear his mind and everything else.

"The thing with Jake, going away with England in the summer, coming back and then going away with England again.

"It was new and it was fresh and he did look tired. His stats showed he looked a bit tired and jaded. There was nothing else to it, nothing at all."

In the past two seasons, Pulis has struggled to rest his players because of Albion's small squad size.

But now he feels more comfortable giving his senior stars a break when needed.

"Maybe we’ve not been blessed with enough depth over a period, but now we are," he said.

"If someone needs a break I can put someone else in. He’s fine, everything’s fine. He’ll be available for Monday."