Bristol City given fresh injury scare ahead of Championship clash with Blackburn Rovers The availability of Bristol City centre-back Tomas Kalas will become clear in the next 24 hours Bristol City have been given an injury scare on the eve of the visit of Blackburn Rovers to Ashton Gate with defender Tomas Kalas sent home early from the Czech Republic camp. Kalas flew to Prague last week and was scheduled to play in both their international fixtures, a friendly against Kuwait followed by Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier against Estonia. However, after being left out of the squad as a precautionary measure for the Kuwait game due to a foot injury which came to light last Wednesday, he was then released from the camp on Monday and allowed to return home to Bristol. The 28-year-old will be assessed by team doctors with City expected to confirm his status when they hold their pre-match press conference on Thursday. Bristol Live understands there is some confusion as to whether or not Kalas arrived in Prague injured from the Coventry City defeat the previous Saturday or if the problem was caused during his time with the national team. Losing Kalas would be a considerable blow for the Robins as they look to address their damaging form since mid-October that has sent them plummeting into 19th in the Championship. City have lost five of their last six games, conceding 14 goals in the process with a strong defence supposedly the hallmark of a Nigel Pearson-led team. Although Kalas has been a mainstay of that leaky backline, he remains one of City’s standout performers in an individual sense and any prolonged absence would likely deepen their defensive issues. Should Kalas not be able to face Blackburn and if Rob Atkinson hasn’t fully recovered from the tight calf that ruled him out of the Coventry loss, assistant Curtis Fleming will be left with Nathan Baker and Zak Vyner as his only fit first-team centre-backs. Atkinson has trained this week, as evidenced in the latest edition of Robins Uncut, and the hope will be that the 23-year-old can return to the middle of defence. Robbie Cundy remains out with a long-standing knee problem while Taylor Moore was loaned to Hearts for the season in August. Baker returned to training last week after missing City’s last three matches with concussion with Vyner stepping into the centre of defence from right-back. And while the academy product has delivered some encouraging performances, his good work has been undone by high-profile errors against Birmingham City and Coventry directly leading to goals. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-given-fresh-injury-6218858
Kalas might not be able to face Blackburn and if Baker is still out, Rob Atkinson hasn’t fully recovered we will be right up the creek.
