West Bromwich Albion could be without Jerome Thomas for this Saturday's trip to Chelsea.
The 28-year old winger missed the season opener against Manchester United on the weekend with hop and thigh problems and he is again in doubt according to Baggies assistant Michael Appleton.
"Jerome is tight around his hip and thigh. We will have to monitor and look after him in terms of his 'prehab' and rehab," Appleton told Express & Star.
"If it was a cup final he could maybe play, but the likelihood is we could then lose him for a month so we will be precautionary, especially with it being the start of the season."
But it was better news for summer signing Gareth McAuley who got through a full game for the reserves yesterday after battling illness and is available for the Stamford Bridge outing.
"I'm hoping Gareth's OK. Yesterday's the first decent bit of football he's had for most of pre-season and I feel a little bit sorry for him," Appleton added.
"He came in during the summer looking to impress and he hasn't been able to because of the problems he's had with illness.
"Hopefully whatever it was is out of his system now and he can concentrate on getting himself in contention for the squad."