By Oluwadamilola Olaleye
West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason says striker Josh Maja is now ready to step into a bigger role as the club looks to sharpen its attacking edge.
Maja, Albion’s top scorer last season with 12 goals, has endured a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The 26-year-old’s last start came on January 4 before surgery for a stress injury in his leg ruled him out for several months and disrupted his pre-season preparations.
Since returning, Maja has been eased back with substitute appearances, but Mason confirmed the forward is edging closer to full involvement.
“He’s getting there, he’s getting closer, for sure. Training’s been good, he’s progressing really well. We’re happy with where he’s at,” Mason said.
“We’ve got over 40 league games still to go and I’m sure Josh Maja’s going to play a massive part in those.”
The coach stressed the need to reintegrate the striker carefully after such a long layoff, but praised his increasing sharpness and fitness levels.
“Every training day at the moment he’s progressing, he’s getting stronger, he’s getting quicker. That’s good news for us,” Mason added.
As Albion aim to recover from last weekend’s first league defeat of the season against Derby County, Mason said Maja is physically and mentally primed to contribute when the Baggies visit Middlesbrough.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
