Steve Bruce reveals West Brom set for imminent double injury boost

Steve Bruce is hoping Matt Phillips and Daryl Dike will give West Bromwich Albion an imminent boost ahead of the run-in.

Phillips hasn’t featured under Bruce since he succeeded Valerien Ismael as head coach at the beginning of February due to a fractured toe. January signing Dike, meanwhile, has been sidelined for almost two months with a muscular injury sustained on his first start for the club.

Neither Phillips or Dike will be available for Tuesday’s clash with Championship leaders Fulham at The Hawthorns, but Bruce provided a positive update on the duo at his latest press conference.

“Slowly,” replied Bruce, when asked how Phillips is progressing. “It’s about time now that the healing process should be OK. I’m probably looking at him to join in at the end of this week.”

USA international Dike, who scored 11 goals in 19 MLS appearances for Orlando City before joining the Baggies, has already resumed training. Bruce had originally pencilled Dike in to return after the international break, but the Albion boss has now suggested the striker could feature at Bristol City on Saturday.

“We play Nottingham Forest at The Hawthorns a week today in the under-23s, so maybe that’s a game for Dike and Phillips,” added Bruce.

“Dike might be involved at the weekend, but I’ve got that in my mind to play him on Monday night, for an hour at least, to see how he gets on there.”

Aside from the aforementioned duo, Bruce hasn’t reported any other issues following the 2-2 draw with Huddersfield Town. Andy Carroll is pushing for a start after scoring his first Albion goal to complete the fightback on Friday night.

“He wants to play, which I can understand,” Bruce said. “But he came on and gave us an impact the other day, and he’ll be