Gareth Barry missed West Brom’s 1-0 defeat to Wigan on Saurday due to a “niggling injury”, according to Express & Star reporter Matt Wilson.
The reliable journalist claimed via his personal Twitter account on Saturday that Barry, 37, suffered a setback in the build-up to the game and was on the sidelines along with Matt Phillips and Bakary Sako.
#wigan v #wba teamsheet. Only change is Brunt in for Barry, who has a niggling injury. Still no Phillips or Sako in the squad. Mears starts pic.twitter.com/n5soiHo0va
— Matt Wilson (@mattianwilson) October 20, 2018
Chris Brunt replaced Barry in Darren Moore’s starting line-up after the senior player wore the captain’s armband in the 4-1 win over Reading before the international break.
OPINION
Moore has kept his cards close to his chest with injury updates this season and even though it was widely expected that Albion would have a fully-fit squad this weekend, that seems far from the truth now. It is frustrating from a fan’s perspective that the club are not more transparent with these updates but it could be done to throw off the opponent a bit. It shouldn’t make a difference though as Barry is not too different to Brunt, perhaps just a bit more defensively rigid. Phillips is the big miss though and hopefully he is back to full fitness in time to play against Derby and Blackburn next week. They are massive fixtures for the Baggies and they need to aim to pick up at least four points from them. Phillips has starred in the big games this season and in away games when the Albion sit back a bit more and try to score on the counter attack.