Albion have decided against signing a striker on loan, with Will Hoskins creeping closer to a return to action.

The loan window opened today but boss Gus Poyet believes he has enough options up front.

He told The Argus: "I am not going to get anyone now. If we manage to keep most of the players fit I'm not bringing in any loans.

"We are on standby, with options in every single position, but that is just in case something really bad happens, a long-term injury at the back or maybe Will Hoskins not fully recovering and having a setback."

Hoskins will be involved in at least one of the next two games, at Bristol City on Saturday and Leicester the following week, after being restricted so far to a goalscoring sub appearance at Cardiff by a hip muscle injury. Poyet said: "He is 50-50, very close. We will probably decide tomorrow but without any doubt he will be ready for the next game at Leicester. That's good news. Let's hope that he is a bit luckier, because every time he has come back there has been something wrong.

"I am looking forward to seeing him training for a few days in a row."

Craig Mackail-Smith (back) resumes training today and should be available to face Bristol, together with Will Buckley (hamstring) and Romain Vincelot (dislocated shoulder).

But central defenders Adam El-Abd (foot) and Tommy Elphick (Achilles) are taking longer to heal than expected. Poyet said: "They are a couple of weeks behind now. We thought they would be training with me this week. Now it's probably the beginning of October. We are allright because of Dunky and Gordon looking so strong at the back and without injuries and suspensions. Let's hope that continues."

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