A year ago, Albion laboured to a 0-0 draw against Preston at the Amex without the pivotal central midfield partnership of Beram Kayal and Dale Stephens.

They struggled in the absence of the suspended Kayal and injured Stephens.

It would have been unthinkable at that stage for Chris Hughton to leave either of them out, especially if the other was missing.

And yet 12 months on, against the same opponents tomorrow, there is a very good chance Stephens will have to settle for a place on the bench on his return from a ban for his recent red card at Ipswich.

This is despite Kayal being ruled out until December at the earliest following surgery on a small fracture above his right ankle sustained in last month's home game against Barnsley.

The reason? The summer plotting by Hughton and the recruitment team which has ensured Albion are in a much better place now to cope with injuries to key figures than they were then, particularly as the option of drafting in emergency loans has been removed.

The permanent re-signing of Steve Sidwell (below right) following his spell on loan at the end of last season and subsequent release by Stoke was predictable.

The Argus: More unexpected was the capture of Northern Ireland's Oliver Norwood from Championship rivals Reading. The timing of his arrival, which coincided with Burnley's persistent pursuit of Stephens, was misinterpreted in some quarters as a potential replacement rather than an addition.

That was never Hughton's plan. After relying so heavily on Kayal and Stephens throughout last season, he knew he would be pushing his luck to do so again.

Hughton said: "I wanted four players in central midfield that I felt could really compete for places.

"We had Beram and Dale that played the large majority of last season. It's very difficult to do that season after season and you know you are going to pick up injuries.

"Rohan (Ince) is still a player we like here and we know the role he can do. Our thinking was to allow him to go out on loan and to have four really competitive players.

"Steve Sidwell fell into our laps, because we had him at the end of last season. It was an obvious one for me but Oliver came up. He's a player I've always liked with a very good pedigree in this division and at international level.

"It's at a time like this that you are glad you have got this type of competition."

Sidwell and Norwood, as Hughton remarked yesterday, "played very well" in Albion's historic first-ever win at Sheffield Wednesday prior to the international break.

Norwood (below) has returned from international duty with Northern Ireland unscathed, together with Jiri Skalak (Czech Republic), Shane Duffy (Republic of Ireland) and Tomer Hemed (Israel), so Stephens may have to bid his time once more after a disrupted start to the season caused by Burnley's interest and injury niggles.

The Argus: "He has trained and trained very well, as he always does," Hughton said. "It's been a little bit stop-start for him but we are very conscious it is a long, hard season.

"Dale will absolutely play games, as will a lot of the players in the squad."

It is easy to forget how well Albion coped with a crippling casualty list which gathered pace last season following a relatively injury-free start.

Eight players missed a minimum of 15 Championship matches and the early indications are the malaise will be repeated.

Connor Goldson was the first victim. He suffered a knee injury during the pre-season training camp in Tenerife.

Now Kayal has joined the unfortunate Liam Rosenior, ruled out also until December by ankle damage sustained in a nasty tackle by Reading's Yann Kermorgant in August.

The difference this time is Albion's superior strength in depth. Signing Sidwell , Norwood, Glenn Murray, Shane Duffy and Seb Pocognoli has left them well covered in every area, apart from up front.

They can ill-afford to lose a striker for any length of time or, for that matter, Anthony Knockaert, such is the mesmeric influence of the Frenchman.

But, bearing in mind how they managed last season with a stream of long-term injuries, including the loss of Gaetan Bong in that dour deaddlock with Preston, the depth at Hughton's disposal bodes well for dealing with everything the Championship will chuck at him and his players in the weeks and months ahead.