Huge boost for Carlos Corberan as key West Brom forward back on grass

The experienced and influential Baggies winger, 32, has been sidelined since the beginning of December due to surgery on a hamstring after pulling up against Leicester.

Boss Carlos Corberan did fear he would potentially be without Phillips for the remainder of the campaign but the wideman took part in some light work yesterday and could return to team training before the end of the season.

“A player who is a more long-term injury but is progressing well is Matty Phillips,” Corberan said. “I don’t know when, but we expect he can be training with the group before we were thinking, so before the end of the season, if he follows his progress.

“We don’t know, it is not good to plan. Long-term injuries...even if they are progressing well you cannot plan with them because it puts a level of pressure on them and the medical staff that they cannot commit (to), it’s impossible.

“If they are 10 days delayed it can be four games, you cannot plan. There is a moment in the good progress of him or (Josh) Maja we can think about them for the squad but at the moment we cannot be thinking this.”

Utility man Adam Reach is another member of Corberan’s squad who has made good progress with an ankle injury sustained at Norwich a fortnight ago.

Reach is now expected to return to training in 10 days to two weeks, earlier than the original four-to-six week projected absence.

Striker Daryl Dike, meanwhile, is expected to be available for today’s derby against Tony Mowbray’s Blues having missed out in last Sunday’s FA Cup defeat to Wolves.

The American frontman had a minor calf complaint on his way back from nine months sidelined but trained in full on Thursday and Friday to be part of Corberan’s options.

He will be part of the Spaniard’s 20-man squad alongside the trio of January loan recruits Andi Weimann, Callum Marshall and Mikey Johnston, all of whom significantly boost the Baggies’ armoury.

Veteran defender Martin Kelly has experienced a further setback, though, on his comeback from an ACL injury.

Kelly, who is 34 in April and out of contract this summer, will be unable to train for another 10 weeks after a calf issue as he tried to return from the long-term knee issue.

Corberan said: “With Martin Kelly he is one player I cannot be thinking of him because after his injury he is still injured – every time he has trained after the injury he has had some injury problems that doesn’t allow me to think of him, especially in the next 10 weeks. I cannot be thinking of him as an option, even to train.

“My plans there are with the other four centre-backs, (Kyle) Bartley, (Cedric) Kipre, (Semi) Ajayi and (Erik) Pieters. Now we don’t have Ajayi, there is always a risk, you don’t know how players arrive after international games.”

Corberan sanctioned a loan move for highly-regarded Baggies academy graduate Caleb Taylor to League One high-flyers Bolton on deadline day.

The 21-year-old, who is tipped to have a big future at The Hawthorns, had no shortage of interest last month but will spend the next four months with Ian Evatt’s Wanderers. Corberan would have happily kept hold of Taylor to be in and around first-team training but admitted he had to take the “risk” in the loan to further develop the defender, even if it left him a body lighter at the back.

“If we didn’t do the deal for Caleb yesterday, then it’s a deal that cannot be done,” Corberan said. “Sometimes I insist you need to take a risk in the present to think in the future of the club.”