“Feeling pain” – West Brom: Carlos Corberan reveals nervous wait ahead of Watford | OneFootball

The Baggies could be without duo Grady Diangana and Kyle Bartley ahead of their trip to Vicarage Road.

West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan has revealed both Grady Diangana and Kyle Bartley are injury doubts heading into their clash against Watford on Sunday.

The Baggies grabbed their first victory in a month over Coventry City in midweek to end a barren run of draws, placing them inside the top six as they meet with another promotion candidate at Vicarage Road this weekend.

The Black Country outfit will now be aiming to register back-to-back wins in the second tier for the first time since September, helping to build forward momentum for another promotion push back to the Premier League.

Three points against the Sky Blues has eased some of the criticism directed towards Corberan from certain sections of the Albion fanbase, but the Spaniard’s task of consistently delivering positive results is being tested by the injuries piling up in the Baggies squad.

Albion will now be sweating on the fitness of Diangana and Bartley ahead of an important run-in.

Carlos Corberan issues Grady Diangana and Kyle Bartley injury update

According to a report by Birmingham World, both Diangana and Bartley are unlikely to feature for the trip to Watford after aggravating injuries and having fitness issues.

Congolese international Diangana has been struggling with a calf problem, with a specialist revealing nerve damage in the area. The club had hoped he would have made a return in their victory over Coventry, but the 26-year-old wasn’t named in the matchday squad.

Bartley has recently made his return in the last few games from minor knee surgery but was restricted to a place on the bench in midweek, with loanee Mason Holgate preferred to partner Torbjorn Heggem.

Former Huddersfield coach Corberan admitted the experienced Bartley didn’t have enough energy in the tank to compete for the full 90 minutes.

When asked about Diangana, Corberan told Birmingham World: “There is no important injury, but at the end we are not having an important player that of course we want to have with us. Still we need to wait. Let's see. I was thinking he would be part of the group today but yesterday he was feeling pain again that is not letting him feel available for the squad.”

On Bartley, Corberan added: “He didn't feel the necessary energy to start the game, it is not a problem with the knee. It is a physical development. For some players, it takes more time to recover the rhythm, you need to have to play three games in a row.”

Potential Diangana and Bartley absences will be a blow

While it is encouraging for Albion fans that Bartley hasn’t had another issue flare up with his knee, there will be some concern about his ability to play every game during the festive period, with games coming thick and fast.

The central defender is still an important piece in the heart of the backline and makes the team look a lot more resolute, so there will be some anxiety in the air about whether Bartley is fit enough to feature from the start.

Diangana’s absence means Albion lack the luxury to rotate the likes of Tom Fellows and Karlan Grant in the final third during the winter stretch, and it is a worry about him missing out in midweek when he was expected to make a return at The Hawthorns.