Nigel Pearson’s defensive options are limited again this weekend against Swansea City with the Bristol City manager confirming that neither Kal Naismith or Tomas Kalas will be fit to play.
Naismith hasn’t played since sustaining a calf injury against Coventry City on October 4 and while the original prognosis was “around 10 days”, the defender has remained out of action ever since. Kalas, who hasn’t started a game since March 5, has played 32 minutes off the bench in his recovery from a knee injury but wasn’t included in the matchday squad at Reading.
Speaking to Robins TV before Saturday’s game at Ashton Gate, Pearson stated that both centre-backs remain out which means his back three will likely be Zak Vyner, Timm Klose and Rob Atkinson for the fifth straight game.
“I think it’s fair to say neither of them will be available for the weekend, which is unfortunate for us but somebody else gets a chance,” Pearson said.
Unless he was to break with his tried-and-tested system and revert to a back three, the only feasible move to alter his back three would be to bring George Tanner in as an auxiliary centre-back, as was the case in a League Cup tie earlier in the season.
However, Pearson also revealed that “one or two players” in the first-team squad could be out of action due to illness in the camp. The manager didn’t confirm names, but hinted that he may have to tap into resources in the Under-21 set-up.
Pearson is due to face local media on Thursday, which could provide further details, while the manager is also scheduled to appear at the fans forum at the Hen & Chicken Pub in Southville later on in the evening alongside striker Nahki Wells and CEO Richard Gould.
First-team players Vyner, Antoine Semenyo, Jay Dasilva, Joe Williams, Sam Bell and the injured Ayman Benarous were pictured at the Robins Foundation quiz at Ashton Gate on Tuesday night including
A short video posted on the club’s Twitter account also showed Wells, Alex Scott, Mark Sykes, Matty James and Tommy Conway going through some sprint drills.
Under-21 centre-backs Raphael Araoye, Joe Low and Jamie Knight-Lebel plus midfielder Omar Taylor-Clarke have also been part of first-team training this week.
“There may be opportunities again for some younger players coming into the squad that our fans haven’t seen before. If that happens, good luck to them,” Pearson added. “At the moment we have one or two away from work with illness, so it’s important we make sure they’re okay but there could be opportunities coming along for players.”
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