QPR v West Brom: Who's out and who's a doubt
Carlos Corberan provided fitness clarity on Albion skipper Jed Wallace, fellow attacker Grady Diangana and new recruit Paddy McNair among others in his Friday morning press conference.
The Baggies head to west London to tackle QPR in Saturday lunchtime's Championship opener with a handful of Corberan's squad not ready to feature at Loftus Road.
Wallace underwent a scan on a calf complaint this week, while Diangana and McNair have stepped up in their bids to return. Devante Cole will come into the matchday squad after missing last week's Blues friendly.
Striker Daryl Dike remains a long-term omission for Albion and continues to work on his rehab at the club's training base following the Achilles injury back in February at Ipswich.
Here's a run through of Albion's fitness concerns ahead of Saturday's season opener.
Jed Wallace – calf
The captain was an absentee at St Andrew's and Corberan revealed afterwards he was set for a scan.
Results have shown a strain that will see the winger sidelined for up to three weeks. The head coach will hope his captain is back available by the end of the month.
Grady Diangana – calf
The attacker has missed most of pre-season training owing to a muscle injury of his own having returned from a summer international call with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Corberan confirmed Diangana effectively began his pre-season schedule and joined in with his team-mates from Friday. It will not take the full six or seven weeks of a normal pre-season to get him up to speed, though, and Albion will instead hope he will be ready to come into the matchday squad within a few weeks.
Paddy McNair – knee
Experienced and versatile defender McNair is the only one of Corberan's seven recruits this summer with any significant Championship experience.
He will not be available at Loftus Road though. The loan defender is set to miss a few games in a similar boat to Diangana, in that he has joined up with colleagues to begin training on Friday. The Northern Ireland international felt discomfort in his knee and has missed out to this stage.
Daryl Dike – Achilles
There was no update on the United States international in Friday's press conference but the timescale was initially given as towards the end of 2024, so Albion are not planning to welcome Dike back into the ranks any time soon.
Whenever the powerful frontman does return, given he can remain fit, he will prove a welcome bonus for Corberan's frontline, which at the moment is still light with one more centre-forward targeted in the current transfer market.
Dike has missed lengthy spells with hamstring, groin and two Achilles injuries during his two-and-a-half years at the club.
