Premier League: West Brom's James Morrison to miss start of season

West Bromwich Albion boss Alan Irvine says it will be difficult for James Morrison to get back to action quickly after missing pre-season.

Morrison has only just returned to light training following a knee injury and will miss Saturday’s Premier League opener against Sunderland.

Reports suggest he may not be available until September and Irvine admits it is a blow to be without such an important player.

“It's a big concern that Morrison hasn't trained all summer,” he said.

"He's an important player for us and we could have done with him being with us for pre-season. Unfortunately he had an operation just before pre-season started and sadly it's taken him an awful lot longer to get back than was anticipated.

"It's a big disappointment because we could do with all our best players being fit and available.

"Clearly, when you miss a pre-season, it becomes difficult to catch up.

"He joined in the early part of training on Friday, but I think I could have taken part in that part of training.

"The boys that have done pre-season have been in for five-and-a-half weeks and there isn't a short cut to getting fit and ready for games.

"It's going to be a big, big task for him to get up to his maximum and best condition quickly."