Dwight Gayle absence presents opportunities for others, says West Brom boss James Shan

James Shan believes West Brom's squad is strong enough to deal with the absence of top scorer Dwight Gayle.

The Baggies must continue their Sky Bet Championship promotion challenge without the striker after he was sent off in the 2-1 play-off semi-final first-leg defeat by Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday.

Gayle, on loan from Newcastle, scored his 24th goal of the season to put the visitors ahead in the first half but was then shown a second yellow card late on.

His suspension sees him miss the second leg at home to Villa on Tuesday night, live on Sky Sports, and will also rule him out of the final at Wembley, should West Brom get there, because an earlier ban for deceiving an official adds another game.

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Hal Robson-Kanu is also suspended following his red card at Derby on the final day of the regular season, Jay Rodriguez will likely play as a lone striker on Tuesday at The Hawthorns in a 4-5-1 formation.

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"[Gayle] is a massive player for us but Jay has been very productive and hasn't played an awful lot of minutes this season in central areas," said Shan.

"So it gives Jay the opportunity to get a more central role and he can be a big threat from there. It also presents opportunities for other people.

"We've got a big squad and a squad of high quality and the players play with a mentality that they're waiting for their opportunity. So the opportunity will be presented for one individual."

Sky Live: West Brom vs Aston Villa

West Brom welcome Midlands rivals Aston Villa to The Hawthorns on Tuesday evening, looking to book a place in the Championship play-off final (1-2 agg.).

Attacking midfielder Rekeem Harper, who was left out of the squad altogether for the first leg for tactical reasons, could be recalled for the second leg.

The 19-year-old had started five of West Brom's last six games of the regular season.

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"We came with a game plan to sit a bit deeper and be a bit more compact and maybe have more of a defensive head on," Shan said.

"Can Rekeem do that? Of course. Rek is a powerful young boy, very good in the half-turn and he can play forward.

"He is probably more of an offensive midfield player than one that will sit in and screen and deny."

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