West Brom welcome Reading to The Hawthorns this afternoon and will be hoping to take all three points to close the gap to second-placed Bournemouth.

Valerien Ismael's men could be just three points behind the automatic promotion places if the Cherries lose today to Blackburn Rovers, so it is vital for Albion to go into this game all guns blazing. However, there could be a setback after Ismael revealed some concerning news in his press conference which will leave Baggies fans gutted.

The pandemic has been on the rise in the football leagues. Both Championship and Premier League clubs have been experiencing higher rates of infection in the last month, and now it seems that the West Brom camp has been hit too.

Ismael revealed the extent of the Baggies' viral outbreak last night, telling the press: "We’ve got two positive cases and possibly a third one", and adding that "two players will miss the game".

The names of those who have contracted the virus have not been revealed, but we will surely see if any of the first team is affected when the line up is revealed this afternoon, and the West Brom manager will be hoping that it won't unduly affect their chances of winning today.

This fresh blow to the squad will see the club needing to indulge in some damage control to ensure that the affected players haven't infected others, causing a huge outbreak which couldn't come at a more vulnerable time for the Baggies.

West Brom could be without eight players today, with a number of injuries also affecting the squad after Matt Phillips was written off for the upcoming clash at The Hawthorns, alongside Dara O'Shea, Ken Zohore and Kean Bryan, who remain sidelined without any certainty as to when they will return.

Ismael will already be working hard to keep his side in sight of a promotion place at the top of the Championship, but this latest setback with the viral outbreak could put a spanner in the works ahead of the January transfer window.

In other news: Ismael must secure this Premier League signing for Albion