West Bromwich Albion have been without the services of Daryl Dike for a long period of time, but Carlos Corberan has now delivered a fresh update as to when he’s likely to stage his return to action in the Championship.
What’s the latest injury news at West Brom?
At the Hawthorns, Corberan currently has John Swift, Jeremy Sarmiento, Josh Maja, Adam Reach and Martin Kelly all out on the sidelines, but Dike is one of the players to have been missing the longest during his recovery from his incident earlier this year.
During the 2-1 victory over Stoke City back in April, USA’s international sustained a serious achilles problem and had to be stretchered off the pitch, later discovering it meant that he had to undergo surgery, and he’s been out ever since.
The Baggies striker first joined the club from Orlando back in January 2022, but due to his previous injury history, he’s only been able to make 27 senior appearances during that time (Transfermarkt – Dike statistics), and here is a look at all of the 23-year-old’s past absences…
Injury History | Length of absence |
|---|---|
2022/23 – Achilles | 184 days |
2022/23 – Thigh | 98 days |
2021/22 – Hamstring | 52 days |
2021/22 – Shoulder | 25 days (Data via Transfermarkt) |
Daryl Dike injury update
Speaking to The Express and Star whilst offering an injury update on Daryl Dike, Corberan admitted that his centre-forward isn’t expected to make his comeback to domestic action until, at the very earliest, January.
He said: “The same process, he’s very committed with the club. He’s very committed with his recovery, but it’s a very long-term injury, so he’s one player that I cannot expect to play until January. He will be one of the new players for January, in the January market we will add to the squad.”
How many goals has Daryl Dike scored?
During his time at West Brom, Dike has posted eight contributions (seven goals and one assist) in 27 first-team outings, which is a decent return, but that number will have definitely been much higher if he would have been able to stay fit for longer.
The Edmond native was also averaging 2.4 aerial wins per game in the second tier last season which shows how much of an ideal target man he is (WhoScored – Dike statistics), with his physical stature, presence and ability to bully defenders having seen him dubbed the “American Lukaku” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Furthermore, Corberan’s £32k-per-week earner (West Brom salaries), has the versatility to operate out wide as a right-winger alongside his usual role when leading the line through the middle, but this versatility is another quality that the boss has been missing out on, not that he’s short of attacking options on that side of the pitch in the final third.
With Brandon Thomas-Asante still at his disposal, Corberan is completely right not to rush Dike back too early to the point where it could set him back even further, but at least now there is a realistic timeframe in place so supporters can expect to see him again in early 2024.
