West Brom's Daryl Dike expected to make under 23s start as injury recovery stepped up
Daryl Dike is expected to step up his recovery from a hamstring strain by starting for Albion's under-23s against Nottingham Forest on Monday.
The striker, who signed in a £7million deal from Orlando City on January 1, suffered the injury on his full Baggies debut just three weeks later.
Dike was seen as the missing piece of the jigsaw for former boss Valerien Ismael – with Albion having struggled for goals under the Frenchman.
But the former Bayern Munich defender was sacked just a fortnight after Dike picked up his injury, with the boss subsequently replaced by Steve Bruce in The Hawthorns dugout.
Now Bruce is looking forward to working with the American striker, with the 61-year-old revealing he could be named on the bench at Bristol City on Saturday.
But it's against Nottingham Forest in Premier League 2 on Monday that the forward will really get a chance to prove his fitness – with Dike set to play for at least an hour.
"We play Nottingham Forest at The Hawthorns on Monday in the under-23s so maybe that’s the game for Dike," Bruce said.
"He might be involved at Bristol City at the weekend.
"But I’ve got that in my mind to play him on Monday night, for an hour at least, to see how he gets on there."
As well as Dike, Matt Phillips is also set to feature against Forest.
The 31-year-old hasn't played since the end of January after picking up a muscle problem.
"Matty Phillips has been progressing slowly," Bruce continued.
"It’s about time now that the healing process should be okay.
"I’m probably looking at him to join in (training) at the end of this week.
"I’ve got in my mind for him to play against Nottingham Forest as well."
The Premier League 2 match against Forest kicks off at 7pm.
