Jake Livermore: West Brom give 'mentally tired' midfielder a break

West Brom have given midfielder Jake Livermore an extended break to help him recover from feeling "mentally" tired, says manager Tony Pulis.

He will also miss Wednesday's EFL Cup tie against Manchester City, but Pulis hopes the England player will be ready to face Arsenal on 25 September.

"He is such a good player for us that we don't want to risk him going into a deeper, deeper, deeper hole," he said.

The midfielder later said the decision was made to give him a physical break after international duty reduced his rest period before beginning pre-season.

Livermore, who has five caps for his country, was part of Gareth Southgate's squad for the World Cup qualifying fixtures in June and October.

He tested positive for cocaine in 2015, almost a year after his newborn son, Jake Jr, died, but the Football Association did not ban him owing to "the unique nature of circumstances".

"Just to clarify the club (both management and medical) made the decision it was the right and only time to take a few days off to rest my body.

"I hadn't had this time in the summer due to international duties and then myself wanting to do a full pre-season with my then new team-mates.

"All is good in the Livermore household but thanks to those who showed concern," he added.

Livermore has featured 21 times for the Baggies since joining from Hull in January, starting every Premier League game this season before the visit of West Ham.

"We had a chat with Jake at the beginning of the week," added Pulis. "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."