West Bromwich Albion star Martin Kelly is still weeks away from making his return to the Hawthorns, according to an injury expert speaking to West Brom News.
At the end of the 2021/22 campaign, the former Liverpool defender’s contract expired with Crystal Palace and he was snapped up by the Baggies who were preparing for another season in the Championship.
However, Kelly’s game-time at the West Midlands club was severely limited as he made merely seven appearances in all competitions last term, including five in England’s second tier. Last January, the experienced fullback was loaned out to Wigan Athletic.
Unfortunately, shortly after joining the Latics, Kelly sustained a ‘serious knee injury’, as was reported by the BBC, and missed the remainder of the season. Despite returning to West Brom from his brief spell at the DW Stadium, the 34-year-old has remained sidelined with this knee problem.
Birmingham Live revealed this weekend that Kelly was due for a return last month. However, speaking to West Brom News, Dr Rajpal Brar, a specialist in Physical Therapy and Sports Science, admitted that Kelly may still be ‘weeks away’ from getting back out on the pitch [quotes via West Brom News]:
“It sounds like the player was involved in that decision to be very methodical and conservative with his return timeline.
“Considering the timeline and player hesitation, sounds like a significant knee injury but difficult to say the severity but it could certainly be extreme,” he continued
“He does appear weeks away from making his first-team return.”
Writer’s View
Kelly’s contract is up at the end of the current season and so time is running out for him to impress the West Bromwich Albion manager and enticing Carlos Corberan to extend his stay with the club.
There is also the possibility that Kelly retires. At 34, the veteran has been out injured for the guts of eight months now which has often spelled the end of a footballer’s career.
