Hungry Joe
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LuaLua in fitness race but Albion injuries are clearing up From The Argus)
Kazenga LuaLua faces a race against time to be fit for Albion’s possible FA Cup showdown against his old club Newcastle.
But the Seagulls’ crippling injury list is showing signs of clearing up.
Boss Gus Poyet could have several of the casualties available for next week’s replay at Wrexham or even sooner for Bristol City’s visit on Saturday.
LuaLua limped out of last Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Wrexham at The Amex with a hamstring injury after setting up Jake Forster-Caskey’s goal.
Poyet revealed: “It’s a small hamstring pull, not serious, the kind of injury that could be two to three weeks.”
Albion entertain Newcastle in the fourth round at the end of the month if they get past Wrexham.
Poyet said: “It will be easy to tell with Kazenga if he is fit or not, because he needs to run, to sprint and shoot. It could be close. I imagine he will probably try to push it, which is a problem, so we will try to keep him safe.”
The Wrexham replay takes place next Tuesday (8pm) and will be screened on ITV 4, subject to final confirmation, which would mean a £62,000 bonus for Albion.
Poyet said: “The good news for us is there could be a few players back before then. We are talking about Vicente, Hoskins, Painter, Adam El-Abd, Tano.
“Most of them are going to be fit for Saturday. The problem is whether or not they can play 90 minutes. I cannot take a risk to start a game with players who are going to last for an hour.”
Meanwhile, Poyet has reiterated Albion will not be in the market for another big money signing during January.
The Seagulls have been linked with a move for Hull striker Aaron Mclean, Craig Mackail-Smith’s former partner at Peterborough, who was signed by the Tigers for £1.3 million a year ago.
Poyet said: “First of all he is under contract and they paid a lot of money for him. I am not going to say I don’t like him, I do, but we cannot pay that money.
“If somebody said to me he was free I would get him. If the chairman gave me £1.5 million then he would become one of the options straight away.
“But we are not looking to buy, we don’t have the money. I like plenty of strikers in the division, Becchio, Beckford, Sharp, Maynard, but we cannot compete with that. I spent all my money back in the summer. Now it is a matter of trying to be realistic.”
More realistic targets for Albion include the likes of Wolves pair Sam Vokes and Andy Keogh. Vokes ends a loan spell at Burnley this week and Keogh is back at Molineux after a loan stint at Leeds.
Poyet added: “There are plenty of names. The list is massive. At the moment there are a couple of possibilities but that doesn’t mean they are strong possibilities yet, so we’ll see.”
Kazenga LuaLua faces a race against time to be fit for Albion’s possible FA Cup showdown against his old club Newcastle.
But the Seagulls’ crippling injury list is showing signs of clearing up.
Boss Gus Poyet could have several of the casualties available for next week’s replay at Wrexham or even sooner for Bristol City’s visit on Saturday.
LuaLua limped out of last Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Wrexham at The Amex with a hamstring injury after setting up Jake Forster-Caskey’s goal.
Poyet revealed: “It’s a small hamstring pull, not serious, the kind of injury that could be two to three weeks.”
Albion entertain Newcastle in the fourth round at the end of the month if they get past Wrexham.
Poyet said: “It will be easy to tell with Kazenga if he is fit or not, because he needs to run, to sprint and shoot. It could be close. I imagine he will probably try to push it, which is a problem, so we will try to keep him safe.”
The Wrexham replay takes place next Tuesday (8pm) and will be screened on ITV 4, subject to final confirmation, which would mean a £62,000 bonus for Albion.
Poyet said: “The good news for us is there could be a few players back before then. We are talking about Vicente, Hoskins, Painter, Adam El-Abd, Tano.
“Most of them are going to be fit for Saturday. The problem is whether or not they can play 90 minutes. I cannot take a risk to start a game with players who are going to last for an hour.”
Meanwhile, Poyet has reiterated Albion will not be in the market for another big money signing during January.
The Seagulls have been linked with a move for Hull striker Aaron Mclean, Craig Mackail-Smith’s former partner at Peterborough, who was signed by the Tigers for £1.3 million a year ago.
Poyet said: “First of all he is under contract and they paid a lot of money for him. I am not going to say I don’t like him, I do, but we cannot pay that money.
“If somebody said to me he was free I would get him. If the chairman gave me £1.5 million then he would become one of the options straight away.
“But we are not looking to buy, we don’t have the money. I like plenty of strikers in the division, Becchio, Beckford, Sharp, Maynard, but we cannot compete with that. I spent all my money back in the summer. Now it is a matter of trying to be realistic.”
More realistic targets for Albion include the likes of Wolves pair Sam Vokes and Andy Keogh. Vokes ends a loan spell at Burnley this week and Keogh is back at Molineux after a loan stint at Leeds.
Poyet added: “There are plenty of names. The list is massive. At the moment there are a couple of possibilities but that doesn’t mean they are strong possibilities yet, so we’ll see.”
