Chelsea legend Branislav Ivanovic is set to miss out when his new side West Bromwich Albion face the Blues tomorrow.
The Baggies host the Blues for the first time since Chelsea won the title at The Hawthorns in 2017 and Ivanovic, who won three Premier League titles and the Champions League in London, is unlikely to feature tomorrow.
Ivanovic joined West Brom on a free transfer earlier this month after ending his three-year association with Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg at the end of last season.
Asked whether Ivanovic will make his Premier League debut or not tomorrow for the Baggies, their boss Slaven Bilic admits that it is unlikely, with the 36-year-old still working on his fitness after only making his first appearance in midweek against Brentford.
“He didn’t play for a long time, on one hand, and he’s lacking a few games,” Bilic explained to Birmingham Live. “Of course he’s going to get better and better.
“He played one game against Brentford, 60 minutes, looked good. Still he’s a bit short of match practice, but he can only get them from matches.
“I’m still not sure about the Chelsea game.
"Maybe it’s coming a bit too soon for him, but he’s not that far from being fit.
“He’s got experience, he’s got quality, he’s that kind of a guy, with physique that doesn’t need a lot of training or games to get to top form.
"We’re going to see, but it’ll be very soon that he plays for us as a regular.”
Meanwhile, Conor Gallagher will also be ineligible as he is currently on loan at West Brom from Chelsea.
