Hungary international Gera, 32, has been ruled out with the ruptured anterior ligament suffered during Saturday's home encounter with Tottenham in the Premier League. It had been only his second start of the campaign after undergoing ankle surgery following his return to the Baggies from Fulham during the summer. Foster has also urged Gera to take heart from his own recovery from knee setbacks. The keeper said: "It's a big blow for Zoltan. I could see from where it was that it was going to be a bad one. "He seemed to twist badly and I feared the worst straight away and, sadly, it looks like it is. "I know what he is going through having suffered a cruciate ligament injury twice myself - at Stoke and then Manchester United. "It's horrible but both times I've come back strongly and Zoltan will come back from this and be a better player for it. He's got the right attitude and mentality." If all goes to plan, Gera should be back in contention for pre-season training in mid July. Meanwhile, former Wimbledon manager Terry Burton is in contention to replace Michael Appleton - recently appointed manager of Portsmouth - as Albion's first-team coach. Burton, who was also previously number two to Dave Jones at Cardiff, is understood to have held initial talks with the Baggies.
