Alan Irvine 'concerned' by James Morrison absence due to knee problem

West Bromwich Albion head coach Alan Irvine has expressed his "disappointment" at not having a fit James Morrison among his team.

The Scotland international has not trained for the Baggies during pre-season due to knee surgery, and is a doubt for the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.

"It's a big concern that Morrison hasn't trained all summer," Irvine told the club's official website. "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."

West Brom will take on Sunderland at The Hawthorns on Saturday.