Ryan Mason offers critical West Brom, Josh Maja update ahead of Blackburn Rovers | OneFootball

The Baggies boss has revealed an update on the fitness of Josh Maja ahead of their opening weekend clash at home to Blackburn Rovers.

West Brom boss Ryan Mason is optimistic that Josh Maja will be fit for their season opener against Blackburn Rovers, despite being absent for their concluding pre-season match.

The Nigerian international had his 2024-25 season cut short in devastating fashion when he required knee surgery back in January, with the striker netting 12 times up to that point and being a vital figure up front for Carlos Corberan.

Maja wouldn’t play another minute during that term as Albion missed out on a play-off place, with the 26-year-old being cautiously reintegrated into the playing squad during Mason’s early spell at the club.

Maja did feature off the bench in their friendly defeat to Lincoln City at the end of July, but failed to make the squad at The Hawthorns over the weekend for their 3-2 victory over Spanish outfit Rayo Vallecano.

This was met with worry from the Albion faithful, who have just lost Daryl Dike yet again to a thigh injury, which will keep the American out until the September international break.

Now, Baggies boss Mason has shed some light on the situation, detailing the chances of Maja making a return for their encounter with Blackburn Rovers in B71 this coming Saturday.

Ryan Mason optimistic over Josh Maja fitness fortunes

As reported by the Express & Star, West Brom boss Ryan Mason is hopeful that Josh Maja will be fit to be part of the West Brom squad to take on Blackburn Rovers on the opening day of the 2025-26 Championship season, believing his latest setback isn’t “nothing serious”.

Mason said: “Obviously, he’s (Maja) had a extremely long time out.

“He’s got to a good place, and he just felt a little something, so hopefully it’s nothing serious, and he should be OK for the start of the season.”

West Brom will hope to keep injury issues to a minimum after latest woes

It would be safe to say that the West Brom squad hasn’t been added to as much as originally anticipated with under a week to go until the new season kicks off.

The Baggies have only brought three players into the club due to ongoing financial constraints, while the likes of Daryl Dike, Tammer Bany, Josh Maja and Ousmane Diakite have all suffered injury problems in recent weeks.

There’s also talk of Torbjorn Heggem making an exit from the Black Country, with the club in £10m negotiations with Bologna for his transfer, although the defender did start and play 90 minutes against Rayo Vallecano.

This leaves Albion quite weak in terms of depth heading into their clash with Rovers, with Ryan Mason not expected to see the finishing touches to his West Brom squad until the 1st September deadline.

A sale for Heggem could be imperative to the Baggies taking off the handbrake for summer activity, with a number of key positions needing to be filled in order for the club to compete for promotion back to the Premier League under the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder.