West Bromwich Albion manager Valerien Ismael has dropped an injury update ahead of the Baggies upcoming Championship fixture.

What's the latest?

In recent comments cited by Birmingham Live, the Frenchman revealed that, aside from Dara O'Shea, his West Brom squad is nearing a return to full fitness, with the 45-year-old confirming that the stricken trio of Matt Clarke, Kenneth Zohore and Rayhaan Tulloch are all back in first-team training, and will each be assessed prior to the trip to Cardiff City on Tuesday evening.

Speaking about the current state of his squad, Ismael said: "We have some players missing still, but they're getting better and better; Rayhaan is back in training, Ken is back in training, Matty Clarke is now in full training with the team - it's just the right time now, when is the right time, he needs to get that feeling too.

"If we have the possibility he can play earlier we will, but we need that feeling that we had with Kean Bryan."

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Clarke had been for Albion prior to his injury, coupled with the fact that the Baggies have been struggling for goals in recent fixtures, the returns of Clarke, Zohore and Tulloch are sure to have West Brom fans buzzing.

Concerning Zohore and Tulloch, although neither players are exactly first-team regulars at The Hawthorns, their respective returns to fitness will nevertheless provide the Frenchman with greater options from the bench in the event that his side are once again finding it difficult to break an opponent down, something that can only be a positive for the club.

Meanwhile, Clarke has already proven over his three Championship appearances this season that he has the ability to play a very important role in the club's promotion push, making an average of 2.3 interceptions, one tackle, 2.7 clearances and winning 7.3 duels per game.

These returns have seen the defender average a SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as the Baggies' ninth-best performer in the league.

As such, should any of the three players indeed be available for the trip to the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday evening, it will undoubtedly be a major boost to Ismael's chances of picking up a positive result in Wales.

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