Adam Webster's willingness to stride forward with the ball had a lasting impact on his Premier League debut.

Not for his own team and not in a way he would have wanted.

One of his first such runs in Albion colours was ended by a foul from Aymeric Laporte at the Etihad.

The injury Laporte suffered in the process undermined Manchester City’s title defence over the weeks which followed.

It was not the only reason Liverpool moved 19 points clear by the end of January (they eventually won the league by 18).

But it was certainly an important factor.

If injuries played a part in the Prem last season, it was nothing compared to what we have seen this term. And Albion are not immune.

With two wing-backs seemingly out for the rest of this season, fans are hoping Webster can be back for the nine-match run-in starting back in Manchester, at Old Trafford, in April.

So far we know he will miss the next two matches, at Southampton and at home to Newcastle.

Graham Potter’s latest update warned progress until then will be slow as he recovers from an ankle injury picked up more than four weeks ago now, at Burnley.

The two-week break for international matches, some of which have already been postponed, looks like a key period for the defender as he aims to return to fitness.

The hope has to be he returns sooner rather than later.

Albion have taken one point from four games in the absence of both Webster and Solly March, as well as exiting the FA Cup at Leicester.

They also lost the only game Webster had previously missed this season, going down 3-0 at the King Power in the league.

Results from games he sat out last term were more mixed and included home wins over Tottenham and Bournemouth.

But he has made progress this season without and with the ball while his absence at the same time as both wing-backs affects the shape of the team.

Albion’s injury troubles have not made headlines like those of some other clubs.

They were apparently not mentioned nearly as much on Saturday as those which have hit their opponents Leicester.

But events against the Foxes underlined how they have been affected.

By the fact three of their first-choice back five, if you want to put it in those terms tactically, have been out, of course.

But also by the way Adam Lallana orchestrated their possession play for much of the evening.

The club website celebrated the fact that, soon after he scored, Lallana passed 1,000 competitive minutes in a season for the first time since 2016-17.

But what we saw on Saturday also underlined what has been missed for long periods.

Injuries have affected everybody this season. Everyone wants to know which players their team will be missing for the next match and whether any of the opposition stars will be ruled out.

The latest to be sidelined is Danny Ings, who will miss this month’s remaining fixtures for Southampton. They include Albion’s trip to St Mary’s on Sunday.

Ironically, the Seagulls were unlucky with Ings earlier this season. He played in the Monday night game at the Amex, and converted the decisive penalty, after returning from a knee injury.

Indications from Ralph Hasenhuttl were that, had the game been played on Saturday afternoon, Ings would not have made it.

The scheduling gave him just enough time having missed the three previous fixtures.

Saints appear to be safe having stopped the recent rot by winning at Sheffield United.

But the feast or famine nature of football, since pretty much this time last year, has caught up with their England striker.

Hasenhuttl said: “We must in the next season have a better pre-season hopefully to avoid this situation we had with him this season and make a few other changes because it is more than we can take, I think.”

Ings’ name is added to the list of attacking threats Albion have NOT faced in recent weeks.

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Since Christmas Day, they have taken on a West Ham side missing Michail Antonio, Wolves without Raul Jimenez, Manchester City without Sergio Aguero, Tottenham without Harry Kane, Liverpool without Sadio Mane (as well as their injured defenders, of course), Burnley without Chris Wood and Crystal Palace without Wilfried Zaha. Coming soon? Newcastle without their three top scorers.

That is a lot of potential goals missing.

Especially when you consider Virgil Van Dijk scored both for Liverpool when Albion lost 2-1 at Anfield last season.

But that is not Graham Potter’s men getting especially lucky.

Plenty of other teams have played those same clubs when they were missing those same star players.

From a wider point of view, the absence of so many matchwinners does not help the Premier League as a spectacle or some of those matches we are watching on TV with fake crowd noise, jaded players and rather flat commentaries.

Those teams who have faced Albion without Webster and March have met them at a good time.

The hope is that can be partly remedied early next month.