Bakary Sako missed West Brom’s clash against Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday night due to a lack of fitness, according to Express & Star reporter Matt Wilson.
The reliable journalist detailed via his personal Twitter account ahead of kick-off why the new Baggies signing failed to make Darren Moore’s bench.
not ready fitness wise
— Matt Wilson (@mattianwilson) October 3, 2018
Sako, 30 left Crystal Palace at the end of last season when his contract expired and arrived at The Hawthorns earlier this week as a free agent.
OPINION
Sako has not played first team football for a long time and has been without a club since the end of last season, so he is going to take a while to get up to full speed before Moore names him in his matchday squad. It did not take long for other free agents like Wes Hoolahan to get settled into the Baggies squad, but Sako has had a history of injury problems and it may take him a while longer. The Mali international will have the international break to try and get up to speed but he is not going to regain match fitness unless he is playing in matches. West Brom’s Under-23s play on Sunday so Moore should try to see if Sako can get some game-time in that because it is unlikely he will be able to play in the first team’s clash against Reading on Saturday.