The 23-year-old was forced to withdraw from the Baggies’ 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town last weekend, with the club confirming that the striker had ruptured his Achilles and would be out until the end of 2024.
It’s yet another setback in the American’s Hawthorns career, with Dike now facing another year of recovery, rehab and self-reflecting. It’s a horrible shame, as another year will go by with everyone else wondering what could, and should, have been.
Daryl Dike’s history of injuries at West Brom
Despite only being 23-years-old, this isn’t Dike’s first setback.
Unfortunately, these types of roadblocks have popped up all too often in the early stages of his career.
His time at The Hawthorns, though, has been dominated by injuries, rather than the goals he’s scored. A hamstring problem ruled him out of much of his first half-season back in England before, in April 2023, he suffered a horrible Achilles injury in his right leg, knocking him out of action until January 2024.
Dike had made his fifth appearance of the season at Portman Road on Saturday, but lasted only nine minutes after being sent on as a substitute before he too had to be replaced.
It seemed the striker knew right away the severity of the injury sustained, with many hoping for a positive outcome. However, everyone’s worst fears were confirmed on Monday as he looks set to miss the remainder of 2024.
The latest major setback continues an awful run of luck for the U.S. national team striker, who has been limited to 32 total appearances since joining West Brom from Orlando City in January 2022.
| Daryl Dike’s West Bromwich statistics as per Transfermarkt | ||||
| Season | Apps | Goals | Assists | Injury suffered |
| 2021/22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Hamstring (22/01/22) |
| 2022/23 | 26 | 8 | 1 | Achilles (15/04/23) |
| 2023/24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | Achilles (10/02/24) |
The scene of him being carted away, head in hands and shirt pulled over his face would have touched the heartstrings of the most hardened football fan, with luck seemingly not on his side so early on in his promising career.
It seems unfair that a man possessed with so much quality and passion is unable to showcase that on a football pitch, with everyone hoping he can battle back from adversity for a third time.
Daryl Dike can take inspiration from Jodi Jones’ injury-hit career
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