West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a major injury blow ahead of their upcoming Championship fixture.

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According to a report by Football Insider, West Brom centre-back Dara O'Shea is facing up to four months on the sidelines as a result of a knee injury sustained in the Republic of Ireland's recent 2-1 defeat to Portugal.

The report continued to state an Albion source has revealed that, upon returning to the club in order to fully assess the centre-back's injury, a scan has revealed that the 22-year-old looks set to be sidelined until around January.

Ismael will be devastated

Considering just how impressive O'Shea has been for West Brom so far this season, in addition to on-loan Brighton & Hove Albion defender Matt Clarke also currently being on the treatment table at The Hawthorns, the fact that Valerien Ismael looks set to be without the Irishman for a considerable portion of the season is sure to have left the 45-year-old Baggies boss devastated.

Indeed, over his five Championship appearances so far this term, the £2.7m-rated centre-back has helped his side keep two clean sheets, as well as making an average of 2.2 interceptions, 2.4 tackles, 3.6 clearances and winning 10.2 duels per game.

The man Slaven Billic dubbed a "brilliant" player has also impressed in an attacking capacity, scoring two goals, in addition to taking an average of 1.2 shots and making 0.2 key passes per match.

These returns have seen £4.4k-per-week defender earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.26, ranking him as Albion's third-best player in the second tier of English football.

As such, the loss of the 22-year-old will undoubtedly come as a major blow to Ismael, who will now have to make do without two of his first-choice centre-backs for the visit of Millwall on Saturday, and for a great many fixtures after.

In other news: Forget Robinson: Ismael's "special" £6.5k-p/w ace stole the West Brom show in August