Albion's record signing Alireza Jahanbakhsh will not be involved in the Christmas and New Year fixtures.

Manager Chris Hughton confirmed to The Argus this morning that the winger is linking up with the Iran squad for the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates next month.

Jahanbakhsh has been sidelined by hamstring trouble since last month's defeat at Everton.

Hughton told The Argus: "Alireza will join up with the (Iran) squad today. And at this moment we are very happy for him to go.

"We have liaised long and hard with the medical staff. He's at a stage where we are happy for him to go. If that wasn't the case we'd keep him for longer before he went but, of course, it's international football and ultimately they have the right to take him and assess him."

There is no clarification about goalkeeper Mathew Ryan's availability beyond Arsenal's Boxing Day visit to the Amex (5.15).

The Australian No.1 is also off to the Asian Cup.

Iran's first Asian Cup fixture is on January 7, Australia's a day earlier.

The group stages end in mid-January, the quarter-finals and semi-finals are in late January, the final on February 1.

Meanwhile, Colombian winger Jose Izquierdo, missing with knee trouble since the victory over Crystal Palace, has been ruled out by Hughton of the Arsenal game and Everton's visit three days later.