West Brom manager Steve Clarke is not concerned over the potential loss of Youssouf Mulumbu and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Peter-Odemwingie-c29794, who may ship out for the African Cup of Nations 2013 in January.
The Baggies boss is confident that he has the squad depth and strength to cope with the loss of two of his most important players.
Both players are expected to represent their nations in the African tournament as DR http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/South-Africa-c757. DR Congo and Nigeria both managed comfortable aggregate wins in their quest
to reach the finals.
However, there is still no certainty that the players will be called up for the competition. If they do, Mulumbu and Odemwingie will be expected to leave the Hawthorns between January the 19th and February the 10th.
Clarke is however not worried about the situation and is confident that his other players will be able to fill the void. The manager said:
“We spoke about it at the start of the season. We knew we had the possibility of losing Youssouf if he decided to come out of international retirement, which he did.”
"Many things can change between now and January, but as things stand we’re comfortable with the squad we’ve got.”
In other news, West Brom expect Chelsea’s on-loan striker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Belgium-c2850 for their World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign.
The Baggies host reigning champions Manchester City at home this weekend, and will need all their star players for the big game. Clarke is hopeful that the imposing centre forward will be back for contention by the weekend. He added:
“We’re hopeful Lukaku will be fit. He’s had a pain in his ankle for a few weeks. It’s not a big problem but it’s one we’re mindful we don’t want to become a big problem. We’re monitoring it.”
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