West Brom defender Ali Gabr set to miss another game while waiting for his work permit
New defender Ali Gabr could be forced to miss another Albion game while he waits for his work permit to be ratified.
The Egyptian centre-back, who has joined on loan from Zamalek, was unavailable for last week's games against Manchester City and Southampton because he is not permitted to work in the United Kingdom yet.
He is currently in Egypt where the British Embassy in Cairo is processing the paperwork that Albion have sent off.
But the Baggies have been told that his work permit is unlikely to be approved in time for next Monday’s visit to Chelsea, and are now are hoping it will be sorted in time for the FA Cup match against Southampton.
It leaves Alan Pardew’s options at centre-back worryingly thin, because skipper Jonny Evans is expected to miss the Stamford Bridge game after twinging a nerve in his back.
Albion’s head coach was forced to name 19-year-old centre-back Kyle Jameson on the bench at the weekend, and he could turn to the youngster again next week, although his overall defensive options will be bolstered by left-back Kieran Gibbs, who is expected to return from injury.
Gabr plays alongside Ahmed Hegazi in the Egyptian national team and was able to join on loan after the Baggies bought his fellow countryman in December for £4.5m.
The Baggies are paying Zamalek £438,000 to take Gabr on loan until the end of the season but included in the deal is an option to buy the 29-year-old for £1.1m in the summer.
“He’s a player we had pencilled in to come in this window before I had arrived,” revealed Pardew last week. “I’ve had a good look at him and thought that should go ahead.
“It’s a really good deal for the club going forward. Between now and the summer I can’t imagine he’ll feature much if everyone stays fit.
“He needs to bed himself in and understand what we do. If he can be as successful as Ahmed we’ll have got very lucky with his transfer fee.”
When Pardew was asked if Gabr was a long-term replacement for 38-year-old Gareth McAuley, and was paving the way for the Northern Irishman’s potential retirement, he said: “No, I haven’t envisaged Gareth McAuley retiring, don’t like that word. I don’t see anything wrong with him.”
