West Brom have a plan for Josh Maja and Jed Wallace fitness update

Carlos Corberan has confirmed that Josh Maja will play an hour of West Bromwich Albion under 21s' game against Manchester City at the Joie Stadium on Friday night, in preparation for the Baggies' final three Championship matches of the season - and, all being well, their likely play-off campaign.

Maja was catapulted into the first-team squad on Wednesday night as Albion saw off Rotherham United 2-0. That was due to captain Jed Wallace being ill, and Corberan wanting another senior attacking options. Maja came off the bench in the final ten minutes of the game, which was his first exposure of football since December when he suffered an ankle ligament injury at former club Sunderland.

It was expected that Maja might then be involved against his old employers this weekend, but Corberan - with Wallace expected to return to the fold - has taken the decision to send Maja to Manchester this evening, get 60 minutes under his belt in the Premier League 2 and then ready himself for the final games against Leicester City, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston North End in the coming weeks.

"Maja will play tonight with the under-21s if the training goes well, if Wallace feels completely fine and everybody is available from the previous game," Corberan said. "He needs this game time that we don't have the possibility to give him another way, from the physical staff and from the coaching staff, it's exactly what he needs if we want to see him helping the team.

"Sometimes we need to, let's say, sacrifice one game if we want to help him be ready, sometimes if you don't make this sacrifice you can spend two months' time to make him available to play as we cannot forget he has been injured from the Sunderland game until now, so a lot of months, which needs some time."

Corberan didn't expect to call upon Maja on Wednesday, but he believes that the small amount of exposure to first-team football can't hurt the forward's bid to return regularly in the near future. Maja has been out for four months and that unexpected cameo will hopefully do him some good.

"Some game time is always going to have more impact than training time, especially the training he was able to do," Corberan added. "He has been working physically a lot, but there is a moment he needs football.

"What he was able to do on Wednesday was massively more important, mentally, technically, tactically, the relation with the ball, goal, team-mates, fans, opponents, things that are football that if he can complete the minutes we've targeted, then the (Rotherham) game exposure can help him more. If he completes the minutes today (with the under-21s) it's the best plan to get him ready to compete."