CHUNG-YONG Lee is to receive a shock recall to the Wanderers squad for tomorrow’s must-win clash with West Brom, just 24 hours after his season appeared to be over.

Owen Coyle has been forced into an emergency U-turn on the South Korea international after losing influential midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker to a hamstring injury.

The Whites boss had spoken of resisting the temptation to use his prized winger in the final two games of the campaign as he battled back to full fitness following a double fractured leg sustained in an August friendly at Newport County.

But after watching Chung-Yong prove his fitness by completing 70 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Wigan Athletic yesterday, Coyle is now set to give the 23-year-old a surprise route back into the first team in arguably the club’s biggest home league game in nearly a decade.

Speaking before the friendly at the Lostock Academy, which ended in a scoreless draw, Coyle said Chung-Yong would need game time for him to even contemplate putting the youngster back into action.

“As important as these two games are, we couldn’t do anything to the detriment of his long-term well-being,” he said. “But he has trained well for two-and-a-half weeks now.

“He needs some game time for his own confidence, so he can take a tackle. And though he’s had that in training, nothing beats the competitive action of a match.”

Coyle admitted Reo-Coker’s absence would be a blow, even though he holds a slim hope the midfielder will make another miraculous recovery. The 27-year-old has been playing through the pain recently but looks likely to be replaced by 18-year-old Josh Vela, who would be making his full Premier League debut.

“We’ll give Nigel until the last minute but right this moment it doesn’t look great,” Coyle said.

“He’s had to play a number of times not fully fit because we have been decimated in that area. It has been never ending but that is immaterial now.

“The focus has got to be on getting the players who are available out on the pitch against West Brom and at their absolute maximum.

“If we win the last two games of the season we believe it will be enough to keep us up in the Premier League.”