Albion stopper Dean Blackwell has been ruled out for a month by boss Steve Coppell after suffering a recurrence of hamstring trouble.

Blackwell made his comeback from a hamstring injury at Preston on Saturday, but the former Wimbledon centre half went off in the first half of the 2-2 draw.

"I would imagine Dean is going to be out for a month," revealed Coppell.

"It's right in the belly of the muscle. I noticed him tweak it about five minutes before he went down.

"I suspected then that he certainly wasn't going to do the 90 minutes, but the way he went down showed he had damaged it more than we thought."

Blackwell has just agreed a contract for the rest of the season after signing initially for a month.

"It's amazing how often that happens, the curse of signing a contract," Coppell said. "I don't know whether it's a relaxation thing in your body."

Kerry Mayo is poised to deputise again in the centre of a five-man defence at the City Ground tomorrow night, with Nathan Jones making his first start for over two months at left wingback.