West Brom sweating on Mikey Johnston injury concern for Stoke clash
Albion winger Mikey Johnston is "touch-and-go" to be available for Saturday's clash with Stoke due to a pubis injury.
Albion's attacker has been managing the fitness issue, which is a form of repetitive strain on a joint, for a period of games.
Osteitis pubis causes discomfort in the lower abdomen or groin and Johnston, Albion's leading creator goals this term, has struggled to train fully this week as a result.
Head coach Eric Ramsay, hunting for a first win in his fifth attempt against the Potters, said Albion remain hopeful he will respond well to Friday's session and be free to face Stoke.
"Mikey is touch-and-go based on how this week has gone up to this point," Ramsay said.
"We are hopeful he overcomes for tomorrow but is something we'll have to monitor after training. It is an element of pain management.
"It would be tricky (to have him out). It is symptomatic of a couple of situations we've encountered here. That is not me putting excuses on the table in any way, but we've had players fit but playing through injuries.
"We obviously want to take a long-term view of things with a hope to make sure we're able to a large majority of the remainder of the season with a full squad.
"We've made some decisions for that and maybe with others in hindsight we've pushed players through. We just have to act on the information we have and make the best decision we can with someone like him."
Ramsay confirmed to the Express & Star that midfielder Alex Mowatt is in contention to start his first game for more than a month after injury rehab has limited the vice-captain to substitute appearances under the current head coach. Mowatt's last start was against Leicester in Ryan Mason's final game.
Defensive duo George Campbell (hamstring) and Krystian Bielik (shoulder) have been out doing light fitness work but will not feature against Stoke and are also unlikely to be back in time for Tuesday's clash at Birmingham.
"George is back on the grass. Krystian Bielik is back on the grass but further away," Ramsay added.
"There is a possibility that those guys return in a couple of weeks, which would be huge. Krystian's is more touch-and-go, with more complexity, I think he has to see how he fares with contact training."