Martin Kelly, a West Brom defender, has not played a single game since his loan spell at Wigan last winter.
Carlos Corberan has revealed that forgotten West Bromwich Albion player Martin Kelly is making progress in his recovery from a long-term knee injury, but that the defender is still a long way from being available to him and returning to Championship action. Kelly, 33, joined on transfer deadline day in the summer of 2022 but needed some time to settle in before breaking into the starting XI at the conclusion of Steve Bruce’s term.
Despite disappointments towards the end of Bruce’s tenure, Kelly held his own in the Albion first team, and he initially retained his position in the side under interim boss Richard Beale, but his minutes under current boss Carlos Corberan have been next to zero; Kelly played four league minutes under the Spaniard and was handed minutes in the FA Cup against Chesterfield, before a loan opportunity with Wigan Athletic presented itself in January.
Kelly made his debut in a goalless draw against play-off contender Blackburn Rovers before suffering a knee injury that forced him to miss the remainder of the season. Indeed, these were his final competitive minutes, having yet to make any form of recovery while back at Albion, but progress is being made and he has taken another step forward even this week.
Kelly’s overall position in the first-team squad, though, remains questionable, and Corberan stated that all parties will meet again in January to discuss the prospect of another loan period abroad, if he has not been exposed to enough openings in the present Albion set-up. Kelly’s two-year contract will end this summer.
“I have a lot of respect for a player like Kelly,” said Corberan. “A player who has made this kind of career never, in my opinion, does not have special skills in football.” In the Premier League, his career has been pivotal. He joined the club in the latter stages of his career. He was a player who didn’t get many minutes, especially when I came.
“Sometimes, especially at this age, a player needs minutes to recover his level.” That’s why we chose to loan him and monitor his progress throughout the season. Unfortunately, he got injured in Wigan’s first game. It has made this procedure more complex.
“He is now making a full recovery.” For example, Friday is the first day he will work with one of our technical members of staff, therefore we are assisting him in his rehabilitation process. He’ll be one player less after today, knowing he’ll be out of football for eight months. It makes it more difficult for him to be ready to play, of course.
“We need to analyse when the right time is, and what the best decision is for him to loan or keep.” That’s something I can’t tell you right now since it’s September. If you ask me right now if he is ready, I will tell you that he is not. In my opinion,
