Stefan Johansen is expected to be fit for West Brom’s clash against Aston Villa on Tuesday night, according to the Express & Star.
The newspaper claims that Johansen, 28, was forced off the pitch with a tight calf in Albion’s 1-0 defeat at Villa Park in the first leg of their play-off semi-final.
However it is understood that the Norway international should be ready to play against Dean Smith’s side on Tuesday in a game that West Brom must win order to keep alive their hopes of sealing promotion to the Premier League.
OPINION
Johansen being fit to play against Aston Villa is a major boost for West Brom. The midfielder has emerged as a key player for the Baggies since he was signed on loan from Fulham in the January transfer window and has since made 13 appearances in the Championship, scoring two goals and supplying three assists in the process. Him and Mason Holgate were perhaps the only good signings that West Brom made in January and it would be a blow for James Shan to be unable to select him on Tuesday night. West Brom need to win against Villa to at least take the semi-final to extra time and penalties. Since he was signed in January, Johansen has missed six games for the Baggies and only two of them matches were won. He needs to be in that midfield this week otherwise it things could go south very quick for Shan and his men.