West Brom give ‘mentally tired’ Jake Livermore an extended break from football
Baggies boss Tony Pulis confirms they did not want to risk midfielder 'going into a deeper, deeper, deeper hole'
WEST BROM have given "mentally tired" Jake Livermore an extended break away from football.
Baggies boss Tony Pulis confirmed the side will let the 27-year-old recover because they do not want to risk him "going into a deeper, deeper, deeper hole".
Livermore did not feature in the 0-0 draw against West Ham at the Hawthorns on Saturday.
He will also miss Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie against Manchester City.
Livermore tested positive for cocaine in 2015.
That came almost a year after his newborn son, Jake Jr, died.
But former Spurs star Livermore - who was playing for Hull at the time - was not hit with a Football Association ban due to the "unique nature of the circumstances".
Livermore has five England caps and was called up to Gareth Southgate's squad for the World Cup qualifying fixtures in June and October.
Latest football news
And he had become a regular feature in Pulis' side this season, starting every Prem game before the visit of West Ham.
Pulis added: "We had a chat with Jake at the beginning of the week. Jake came to see me.
"He has felt a little bit jaded, mentally more than anything else.
"We check all of his running stats, and his data, and he had dropped off a bit.
"i think playing all the time has really, really taken it out of the boy."