Albion's injury-hit striker Lee Steele is threatening to call in a priest to bless his unlucky No. 13 shirt.

Steele is on crutches after suffering an ankle injury at Southend on Saturday.

The damage is not thought to be serious, but manager Micky Adams says he could be without his summer signing from Shrewsbury for two to three weeks.

It means Steele is sure to miss Saturday's home game against Rochdale.

He will also almost certainly be sidelined from Millwall's visit to Withdean three days later in the first round first leg of the Worthington Cup.

It is the second blow for Steele in a matter of days since being awarded the No. 13 squad number no Albion player would wear last season.

He was left on the bench for the Southend match following the £100,000 arrival of Bobby Zamora from Bristol Rovers.

The 26-year-old, snapped up on a free transfer under the Bosman ruling, sustained the injury to his right ankle in a challenge by Leo Roget after replacing Gary Hart midway through the second half of Albion's opening 2-0 defeat.

"I am a little bit superstitious, so I did think about the No. 13," Steele revealed. "I asked the gaffer for nine or eleven, but they had already been taken.

"Thirteen is known as a striker's number and I had it for Shrewsbury's training kit last year.

"If it starts getting unlucky I'll get a priest to bless it!"

"Their big centre half tackled me late, my ankle had already twisted and he put his weight on it as he fell down.

"It's very disappointing, but I'm glad it's not worse. It felt terrible when it happened, but it's a lot better now and I am pretty optimistic I will be back sooner than three weeks."

Adams has already had to deal with one injury problem affecting his forwards.

Darren Freeman, a half-time replacement for skipper Paul Rogers at Southend, is playing through the pain of a double hernia which requires surgery.

Right-back Paul Watson picked up knee and ankle knocks in the defeat at Roots Hall, but Adams expects him to be fit to face Rochdale.