West Brom's Matt Phillips in lengthy lay-off with injury worse than feared
Albion winger Matt Phillips could spend up to three months on the sidelines after Carlos Corberan confirmed his quad injury is worse than initially feared.
Scan results this morning (Friday), prior to the Baggies' late 2-1 defeat at Burnley, revealed an issue with the tendon in the winger's muscle.
Phillips will see a specialist to confirm the exact extent of the injury, sustained late on in the FA Cup win against Chesterfield in midweek, and for a more accurate time-frame but the head coach estimated a period of six to 12 weeks.
"The injury to him is a more serious injury than we were expecting," Corberan admitted to the Express & Star.
"He is going to go to see a specialist to know more detail the number of weeks that he will be out.
"But we are talking a minimum number of six and maximum number of 12.
"So yes, it's a big injury, a serious injury, we still need the medical confirmation for detail but it's not an injury of one or two weeks."
Phillips had been in excellent form and a regular on the left flank since Corberan's appointment in October.
The long-serving attacker injured his muscle in the dying moments against National League Chesterfield in last Tuesday's FA Cup third round replay at The Hawthorns – when the Baggies were 3-0 up in the tie they won 4-0.
Grady Diangana filled in for Phillips in tonight's clash at Turf Moor but tailed off after a bright start and was unable to make an impact in the final third as Burnley grew more dominant as the game went on before striking back late.
Corberan has Karlan Grant, who he has insisted is a left winger, back from an injury and was a late sub in Lancashire, and Adam Reach as a possible option as well as John Swift and Tom Rogic who can fill in out wide.
But it remains to be seen whether the setback will have ramifications for Albion and Corberan in the current January transfer window.
