Bristol City defender Kal Naismith has been ruled out for around 10 days with a calf injury, with Nigel Pearson admitting the club initially feared the Scot would be missing for much longer.
Naismith left the field just before half-time in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Coventry City, hobbling off after one of his trademark runs forward from deep, with midfielder Andy King then deputising as an auxiliary centre-back for the remaining 49 minutes.
Having been assessed at the Robins High Performance Centre, the timeline indicates that Naismith will definitely miss the next two Championship fixtures at Birmingham City on Saturday and then Wednesday’s visit of Preston North End to Ashton Gate, and possibly the following weekend’s game against Millwall in BS3.
The 30-year-old has been ever-present in the City back three, playing 90 minutes in each of their 11 fixtures prior to Tuesday, but his absence leaves Pearson short at centre-back, emphasised by King’s surprise turn as a defender against the Sky Blues.
However, reinforcements are on the horizon with Timm Klose back in training and set to be involved against the Blues after knee issues and personal matters in Switzerland, while Tomas Kalas could also join the group in 10 days time having not played since March 5 due to groin and knee injuries.
“He’ll be maybe 10 days, something like that,” Pearson said of Naismith. “It’s not as serious as we initially thought, so that’s good news for us.
“Timm’s trained so he will probably be in the squad for the weekend. We threw him in the deep end when he signed for us at Preston. Timm’s experienced so hopefully he’ll play some part but I thought Andy King did well. We’ll find a way of making sure we’re solid at the back.
“Tomas Kalas, I did promise that I’d keep you updated, he should be training within 10 days which is really good news for us and for him too. His levels of general fitness are very good, and he’s even smiling these days, which is quite disconcerting.
“It’s inevitable you’ll get some injuries, and we work very hard to avoid unnecessary ones, certainly in training, but in games you’re not in control of that. We’ll pick injuries up from time to time it’s just important we minimalise that and get as many players available as possible.”
Klose’s comeback equips Pearson with three natural centre-backs, along with Rob Atkinson and Zak Vyner, while King’s performance against Coventry means he has the tools to continue to play a back-three, which has been City’s system throughout much of 2022.
Pearson hinted on Tuesday night that a four-man defence was a possibility in the Midlands but, when asked about those chances on Thursday he reassessed that view.
“Not really,” he added in response to whether he was considering it as an option, before adding with a grin. “But I’ll say it again so that Birmingham think it might be.”
Midfielder Matty James is also not expected to be fit in time for St Andrew’s due to a groin injury that has kept him out of the squad for the last two fixtures, while Joe Williams is suspended after collecting his fifth booking of the season against Coventry City.
Another player who will be missing from the matchday 18 is wing-back Kane Wilson after a knee issue surfaced in the wake of last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to QPR with the 22-year-old to undergo scans but the overall feeling that it’s not likely to be serious.
“He’s got a knee injury that he’ll have scanned and we’ll assess how that is,” Pearson said. “Hopefully it won’t be too long. It’s probably a grumble that’s been there for a while and is a bit like Timm, so we’ll see how that is.”
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