Jerome Thomas's West Bromwich Albion comeback has been delayed by a fortnight after he underwent a minor operation on his knee.

The winger has missed all four of the Baggies' opening league and cup games with an injury he picked up during a frustrating pre-season.

Albion manager Steve Clarke is eager to get the former Arsenal trainee back in his first-team fold, but has said that he will be wary about rushing his return.

He said: "Jerome had a fantastic first week of pre-season and just as we were leaving to go on the tour to Sweden he pulled a thigh muscle, which set him back a little bit.

"Then he came out and joined us on tour and played a part in the game against Copenhagen. He then picked up another injury and he's just gone from one to the other.

"The idea now is to try and settle all these little niggles down and basically start again – and get him back in the squad, because he's a talent. The more talented players you can have in the squad the happier you are as a coach."

Thomas joined West Brom from Portsmouth in 2009.