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Nigerian defender, Semi Ajayi, faces a lengthy spell out after sustaining a knee injury while in action for West Brom on Tuesday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The defender underwent a scan on Wednesday after limping off in the first half of the Baggies’ 1-1 draw at Wigan in the Championship, having made an error for the Latics’ opener at the DW Stadium.
There are fears the setback could be severe as West Brom manager, Steve Bruce, admits Ajayi’s injury does not look good.
Ajayi has impressed overall for the Baggies this term but Bruce is now prepared for the worst on the defender’s prognosis, after revealing that the Nigeria international hurt his knee and ankle in an innocuous incident with no Wigan player close to him.
When asked about Ajayi’s injury, Bruce told Birmingham Mail, “Not great. We’ll not know until the scan but it doesn’t look great, I have to say,” Bruce said.
“He’s hurt his knee and his ankle and they are not looking good. I’m not anticipating good news on that, that’s for sure.”
Bruce said Ajayi had been arguably the team’s best player since he took over in February, following the departure of Valerien Ismael.
“I believe he has all the attributes needed to be a Premier League defender in terms of what we want to do and the rebuild which needs to happen,” the manager added.
The 28-year-old joined the Baggies from Rotherham United in 2019 and has played 117 games for the club, scoring nine times.
In May, Ajayi signed a contract extension tying him to the club until the summer of 2025.
“The talks have been going on for a very long time, so I’m glad we’ve finally got it all sorted,” Ajayi told the club’s website.
“I can now look forward to next (this) season and doing my best to try and help this club get back to the Premier League.”