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Leighton Baines is still being troubled by the ankle complaint which has hampered him all season, admits Roberto Martinez.

The England defender has been left out of the team for the Blues last six games, but replaced Bryan Oviedo in the closing stages at Villa Park, coming off the bench to make his first appearance in a over month.

Baines, 30, is not yet over the problem which forced him to miss the start of the season, and Martinez said the left-back has suffered pain while on the pitch but could still feature against West Ham on Saturday.



The Catalan said: “Since the surgery, it has been giving him a little bit of soreness and managing that pain at times has been a little bit difficult.



“When he came on against Villa, he felt he has to play through pain at times which is not ideal, so we have to make sure we solve that because it is not fair on Leighton to be feeling pain every time he steps on the football pitch.



“We are going to be seeing the specialist but it shouldn’t stop him from training and being with the group. He’s just been carrying a little niggle, part of the injury that kept him away from the pitch. We need to make sure that final step is sorted and it clears him from pain from now until the end of the season.



“He should be [available for the weekend].”

Oviedo, who was forced off with an injur at Villa, is a doubt for the weekend match against West Ham United due to the knock he sustained.

The Costa Rican will be assessed in the build-up to the visit of the Hammers after he was forced from the field in the closing stages of the 3-1 win against Aston Villa.



Tom Cleverley, who missed the midweek game, will also be monitored as he continues to recover from illness.



Martinez said however that he hopes to have Muhamed Besic and Darron Gibson back at the weekend.



He said: “Bryan is going to be assessed. He has got a little bit of a knock but it is not a major problem. I don’t think he will train today [Thursday] but we will look at him over the next 48 hours to see if he can make the squad or not.



“There is a bit of a question mark over Bryan, as there is on Tom Cleverley who is coming back from illness. He had a bit of a chest infection. We’ll see if he can join the group today.



“We are going to test Mo Besic and Darron Gibson but it looks like they will be available.”