Nigel Pearson has confirmed youngster Ayman Benarous has suffered a devastating set-back by rupturing his ACL for a second time which will rule him out for the remainder of the 2022/23 season.
The City playmaker, 19, was closing in on a comeback following his first ACL injury in May and was targeting a return to action around Christmas. It's a cruel blow for the player with the club initially really positive about the timeframe of his return.
Speaking to Robins TV, Pearson confirmed: "Ayman has, unfortunately, had a second rupture of his ACL so he's had surgery again and that's his season done.
"It's really important now that we take good care of him. For that to reoccur is just unfortunate but it would have happened at some point. He was doing really well.
"It just re-ruptured during straight-line running and is just a really unfortunate event so he's had surgery again and hopefully this time he will be okay."
Benarous made his breakthrough into the first team last season with his debut as a substitute in the 2-1 victory over Barnsley 14 months ago. The Bristolian, who signed a new contract in February until 2025, went on to make 11 league appearances before rupturing his ACL during a training session at the High Performance Centre in April.
Pearson also provided injury updates on both Tomas Kalas and Kal Naismith ahead of City's return to Championship action on Saturday. The latter hasn't featured since injury a calf injury against Coventry at the beginning of October but will be in contention to take on Rotherham.
"Kal will hopefully be available for this week. He's been back in training so hopefully, he will be available," he added.
However, City will need to remain patient with Kalas who has also struggled with a calf injury following his return from a long-term knee issue. He made two substitute appearances in October, after seven months out injured, before heading back to the treatment room.
"Tomas is still missing at the moment so hopefully he'll be back before Christmas," Pearson added.
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