Bristol City injury report: Nathan Baker, Matty James, Joe Williams and Andy King Bristol City are likely to be without three senior centre midfielders again for Saturday's visit of Derby County Bristol City's injury issues in 2021/22 aren't anywhere near the same levels of last season in terms of volume, but there remains a real significance to the individuals currently absent from the first-team. As Sunday's 2-0 loss at Sheffield United displayed, Nigel Pearson could really do with some experienced reinforcements in midfield to help and guide the young players he is being forced to start each game. With Derby County the visitors to Ashton Gate on Saturday, the Robins have a run of crucial fixtures before the end of the year that will possibly not only dictate their season overall, but also their strategy for the January transfer window and possibly the direction of the club. Defeats to Sheffield United can be swallowed, to a point, given the quality of the opposition but not so much a Derby County team rooted to the bottom of the Championship, albeit through a mammoth points deduction, and a Hull City team fighting for survival. After three games inside eight days, City's squad have been given the next two days off - perhaps an admission of fatigue - before reconvening at the Robins High Performance Centre to prepare for the visit of the Rams and here is the status, as it stands, of Pearson's five injured first-team players ... Nathan Baker Injured: Sunday, November 28 vs Sheffield United Baker was thankfully discharged from hospital in Sheffield late on Sunday afternoon and was ruled well enough to return to Bristol where he will now be further assessed by the City medical team. The club are yet to confirm categorically that the centre-back was left concussed after his challenge with Chris Basham but it's reasonable to assume that was very much the case which will lead to an absence of weeks, rather than days. Baker will be given the next two days off, along with the rest of the squad, but it would appear unlikely he re-joins the team for training on Wednesday. That is, unless somewhat miraculously, he is given the all clear. But in the context of it being his second head injury of the season, after West Brom last month - and on that occasion he was also discharged the night of the injury - the club will undergo all the necessary protocols and err on the side of caution before reintroducing him to a competitive environment again. Joe Williams Injured: November 24 vs Stoke City It's not good news for the midfielder who's sustained a separate hamstring injury to the one he's just recovered from having visited a specialist with head of medical Dave Rennie towards the end of last week. Speaking before the game at Sheffield United, Pearson said it's "weeks" with the 24-year-old, which will likely take him past Christmas given his last hamstring injury sustained against Bournemouth kept him out for a month. "Joe Williams will be out for a few weeks unfortunately for him," Pearson told BBC Radio Bristol. "It's a hamstring injury for Joe but it’s a different leg and a different type of injury, really unfortunate with how it happened, we’ll have to make sure he’s in the right place mentally because he’s had some setbacks so we’ll give him a few days and then get back to the rehab side of it." Matty James Injured: Saturday, October 30 vs Barnsley James has missed City's last four matches after being taken off against Birmingham on November 2, having suffered a foot injury three days earlier in the 2-1 win over Barnsley. The 30-year-old's situation appears to have slightly changed and his absence has slowly increased in timespan with each sign of optimism. Initially it was hoped he'd be back after the international break, then after the draw with Blackburn it was possibly one more game, but then speaking on Sunday, Pearson said his involvement against Derby looks unlikely. "Probably not, but we’ll see how this week goes," Pearson said, in response to a question around James' availability for Derby. "As it stands, I don’t have any great expectations of there being changes to that but who knows." At best, it would seem, James will return for the trip to Hull City on December 11. Andy King Injured: October 16 vs Bournemouth King was back on the grass, training last week at Failand after undergoing hamstring surgery in October and the original timeline for his return of December looks to be accurate. Exactly when in December is unclear but Pearson did remark last week he's getting "closer" but then on Sunday, in tandem with James, wasn't particularly confident we will see him on the teamsheet this weekend. At 33, City will just have to be that extra bit careful in managing his recovery and not placing him back in the team too soon, running the risk of aggravating the injury again. Similar to James, the best-case scenario for King looks to be the game at the KCOM Stadium but it is only Monday and maybe developments in training this week accelerate that return. George Tanner Injured: Training during November international break The right-back's "minor hamstring injury" was first flagged by Pearson prior to the Blackburn game during a press conference last Thursday with the manager stating at the time he wouldn't be available for, "two to three weeks". Within that timeframe, that would mean the earliest possible return for the 21-year-old would be the home game against Huddersfield on December 18 and, if not then, the Boxing Day clash against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road. Since Tanner's absence, Alex Scott has been deputising at right wing-back and unless Pearson wants to play Danny Simpson there, it looks like he'll be there for at least another two games. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-injury-report-nathan-6279052
Looks like we're left with kids and the dregs of the '65'. No worry though, different tactics will see us through. Simple.
So who is to blame for this injury crisis? Before it was MA and 'his' team, but they are all gone now, so who is to blame?
All teams have to contend with injuries, it's part and parcel of football. But even with the exit of Ashton and the possibly questionable training regimes, proportionately we seem to get way more serious and long term injuries than other clubs do.
I agree, but as always with some on here, it was always the previous regime's fault. Yet now both are gone, we are worse on the pitch, and the injuries are as frequent. It's just that it suited some people's agendas to blame people no longer at the club, yet I don't see the same fingers pointed now....
I believe that we are starting to see a worrying vulnerability with our reliance on Williams and James in particular to glue the team together - and they are made of glass. As for who is to blame; there are multiple people to blame over the years, but the most recent mistakes were (as I've said before a number of times) was letting Diedhiou and Paterson go without being replaced. They weren't the best - and I DO get that their contracts were up, but we replaced them with sweet FA and now we are threadbare as soon as our fragile crocks aren't available. This could be good news for Palmer maybe? Our current recruitment setup is rumoured to be virtually non-existent (based on 'chatter' I've read on OTIB) so maybe that's why Ashton went for the 'scatter gun' approach, in the absence of any clear scouting advice? Whatever the truth is, I'm afraid that I can't see much chance of it improving much in January We will continue to rely on Williams and co playing 1 game in 4 to carry us over the line - plus the Derby and Reading points deductions - and Barnsley and Posh continuing to be crap.
When Ashton and Johnston were the people in charge they quite rightly bare the stigma and blame for their failures, DH was a large partner in their scheme of things and the disasters the 3 of them combined left behind them for that they are held totally responsible for that period, Pearson had a 3 month trial period to survey, weigh up and make decisions to take over on a permanent basis as of 22/02/21, he is in my mind fully responsible for everything since that date on and off the field ( regardless of covid) therefore the mess we are now in is surely down to him, you can't make excuses either way.
Can't disagree overall Wiz, but Nige hasn't had vast sums of money to spend since he took the reins. He's basically had to make do and mend, but it's not working as we are low on ability and even doing the basics, like seeing games out, and a bad situation has now been made much worse with the lengthy injury list. For now we need to be thankful that we have enough teams below us to fill the bottom 3 places in the league table. | But whether that will last until next May is anyone's guess.
I agree with you totally but I left finance out because that is a massive can of worms on this forum, we can't keep on blaming LJ for everything, I don't rate him and his accolites at all but he and they have moved on, Nige is the man in charge, the captain of the ship, he took up the baton, it was his plan to move on the 12 apostles, he signed Simpson, he did inherit a bad situation but it's his team, his signings, his tactics, he is the manager. We can enjoy or hate our history but that has gone, it's the here and now and future we have to now consider and Nige is all we have, it's down to him and Lansdown to back him.
History is what it says, a happening of events that took place in a timeline, hindsight should you wish to rebrand it, peeps can choose to ignore it or choose to accept it but it is never gone. After the 2 games between DH and NP start of reign, [ NP did say Midds was not his kettle of fish, and Swansea was not really down to him ] everything is down to him, "the new era". Whether money was available/ howmuch / wage bill reduction /etc were all known quantum's before 2021/2022 season started. Probably at least +6 other clubs had less to spend than BCFC! and playing the last season squads......... As said, NP now has the baton, he will not be the first and certainly not the last "top drawer manager" to fail/ drop it ...... he may sound all cheerful now recovered, but results are what matters, and one could beg the question "what results?" Game 46 is what matters ... points and position! Maybe any game counting back from 46 might be the one that counts... like played 43 and 10 pts needed!
A lot more than 6, we were 1 of only 8 clubs to pay fees this summer, so although not at the level of before, NP still had more than most this summer to spend. I suspect the wages paid to his Leicester mates is the reason we didn't get the new striker we crave/need..
just been reading around ex City "peeps" clubs BOTH SC & LJ managers of course! both in LGE 1 and at opposite ends of table. SC now fully recovered is beginning to creep up the table .. LJ after a wobbly period getting the wheels back on! however the injury "plague" does seem to follow him around!! has 3 first teamers out long term! Millen now has 3 pts from 12 [ 15 ]
We don’t have that many injuries I don’t think , it’s just the ones we have are mostly to important and influential players, players that in a small squad are difficult to replace. Our 3 experienced midfielders are all out at the same time. That’s tough.
Is it possible that players who turn out for clubs such as us are more susceptible to injury due to the fact that we struggle to keep up with better teams. When your team is second best in matches perhaps poor decisions cost players their freedom to play at a more flexible level meaning you don't need to over stretch. Our ongoing problems with injuries are a blight on our commitment to being better and if you couple that with having to pay high salaries to players in the treatment room then it only makes our situation more untenable. Looking towards the January transfer window makes me wonder whether this time out will be any different than our previous dips in to the pool which quite frankly have left most of us freezing in the dark yet again? P.S. Global warming is just down the street from where I live and thankfully we are both safe from the +49.5 C heat dome followed by the burning towns and now catastrophic floods cutting off coastal B.C. from the rest of Canada. Should you add on omicron then you have a perfect storm which makes me wish for the New Year so much and let's hope it brings better fare than 2021. Minor rant over thank you.
with James and King back in training will he pass them over till say the hull game ? then on bench! before reintroducing .... along with Baker?
I would hope not DERBY is very strong defensively ... I would like to the youngsters full of energy ones run Derby off their feet till say last 15 mins then make subs should it be all square or ............
Actually looking through the various " what the players get paid sites" we got rid of Fammy and Pato [ saved wages] to be replaced by Simpson and ? .. King/ Atkinson/ Tanner [ whatever makes up or exceeds Pato wages ] = a nett loss?
