Toby Collyer starts three games in eight days to surprise Man Utd fans, then familiar sight happens

Toby Collyer has got his West Brom career up and running in a way that would surprise most Man Utd fans, but with an asterisk.

After finally getting a permanent move away from Man Utd, Toby Collyer joined West Bromwich Albion in a deal worth around an initial £3m.

Collyer’s talent and work ethic have rarely been in doubt, but his limitation with the ball, combined with some injury worries, made him expendable.

He had started to put those worries behind him at West Brom, but the most recent game saw a familiar thing happen to him.

Toby Collyer’s three starts in eight days haunt him

Collyer had played no part in West Brom’s first four games upon joining, as he worked his way to match fitness so he could avoid further injuries.

He then played 68 minutes against QPR, had a poor game, and was sent back to the bench for the next game, where he played six minutes.

However, after that six-minute cameo against Wolves, something clicked on October 10 against Birmingham, where he started and did well in 80 minutes.

What followed were three consecutive starts in a span of eight days, including that one above against Birmingham, as West Brom won two of those games.

Collyer’s position at the base of midfield was perfect, as he was a bundle of energy and swept up attacks while playing the odd line-breaking pass.

In the most recent game, a 3-2 win against Blackburn, he started again, but in the 43rd minute, disaster struck, and it was a sight all too familiar for Man Utd fans.

Collyer pulled up with a non-contact injury and had to come off, with manager James Morrison saying after the game that the player felt discomfort in his hamstring.

He also blamed himself for not rotating Collyer and starting him thrice in eight days after a period of being out of the team.

Morrison maintained that the injury is not serious, but it hammered home the point that Collyer’s injuries are the one thing keeping him from becoming an elite Premier League player.

Morrison rates him highly so he should walk straight back into the starting line-up once he’s fit, but the “once he’s fit” part is so unreliable that he can’t be trusted as anything more than a squad player.

Just as he was beginning to gain some momentum and wind in his sails by starting games, an injury has set him back. Man Utd fans know that feeling only too well.