Nigel Pearson has delivered fresh doubt on the fitness of Andi Weimann for the visit of Stoke by declaring they will make a final assessment of his ankle injury on Friday.
In a club interview on Wednesday, the City manager was hopeful that the Austrian was going to return to training today (Thursday) and therefore be in contention to start at the weekend. Weimann twisted his ankle in the victory over Rotherham which forced him off at the beginning of the second half.
As of Thursday afternoon, frost at the High Performance Centre meant City hadn't trained outside and therefore they haven't had the opportunity to take a proper look at his recovery. Weimann had endured swelling around the ankle and they have remained cautious in getting him back into training.
Pearson did say he had spoken to Weimann on Thursday morning with the 31-year-old giving positive feedback. Although the City boss did concede that he is the sort of player that would be willing to play through the pain.
Speaking ahead of the Stoke game, he said: "We're going to have a look at him today and tomorrow to see whether he's ready to play but I was just speaking to him now, he says he feels a lot better but I think we're going to need to see him out on the grass if we can get out there at some point."
If he does recover, there's every chance Pearson could name an unchanged side as he goes in search of back-to-back wins for the first time since September 3. City will also welcome back both Zak Vyner and Jay Dasilva following their illness which ruled them out last weekend.
"Well, there's an element of trying to be fair," Pearson added. "Both of those players are in credit but I also need to consider and we as staff need to consider the fact that we could keep an unchanged side.
"That's just how it works. Ultimately it's about trying to pick the right team to win any game and so sometimes sentiment has to be put to one side and trying to pick the right side. That will be the same case this weekend too."
If that remains the case, City could line up with a back three of George Tanner, Andy King and Kal Naismith. King has started the last two matches in the heart of the defence and Pearson praised the 34-year-old for his role in an unfamiliar position.
"He's part of a team that won the Premier League (with Leicester)," he said. "As players get older it's really important they use their knowledge and use their experiences and I think what players like Andy King bring to our team is having a coach on the pitch.
"That's really important and just in terms of game management, he understands what the team needs. I'm really pleased to have him in the squad."
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