Bristol City midfielder Joe Williams will undergo a scan later today after sustaining another hamstring injury at Cardiff City, while Nigel Pearson indicated Tomas Kalas’ knee problem could be serious although the full extent of the issue won’t be known until next week.
City experienced a damaging derby defeat at the hands of Cardiff City as they not only suffered their first league reverse since Boxing Day but lost Williams in the first half and then Kalas after the break.
Williams immediately signalled to the bench after stretching for a loose ball in the 25th minute and then reacted by slamming his fist to the ground. The 26-year-old has endured a number of hamstring problems since signing for City but has been injury free all season.
Pearson left the field with his arm around the midfielder and claimed he was “surprisingly calm but obviously very, very disappointed”, however he will, at the very least, surely miss Tuesday night’s trip to Huddersfield Town.
That also looks to be the same conclusion for Kalas who left the field in the 68th minute after trying to play on having gone to ground following an aerial challenge with Connor Wickham, but the Czech only lasted a minute or so longer before he needed to be substituted continuing a hugely frustrating campaign for the centre-back who is out of contract in the summer.
Kalas’ start against Hull City last weekend was his first since March 2022 after experiencing knee and groin problems and this latest issue occurred after a week in which he played 90 minutes against the Tigers and then Manchester City in the FA Cup.
“Joe will have a scan this afternoon, Tomas - we’ll just have to see how it is over the next couple of days,” Pearson said. “Tomas’ is a knee injury and Joe’s hamstring. Look, it’s a costly day for us in that regard.”
Kalas and Williams add to a growing injury list for Pearson with Tommy Conway (hamstring) and Kal Naismith (calf) unlikely to be back until the end of the month while centre-back Rob Atkinson and playmaker Ayman Benarous (both ACL) are out for the season.
Pearson admitted that left-back Cam Pring, who finished the game alongside Zak Vyner, now the Robins only senior central defender, or right-back George Tanner will be the likely candidates to start in that role against Huddersfield.
City tried and failed to add a centre-back in the January window having released Timm Klose with their efforts to loan Jake O’Brien from Crystal Palace unsuccessful as the Premier League champions wanted too large a loan fee for the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international.
“Both of them have played there,” Pearson said, of Pring and Tanner. “It’s always a risk and we couldn’t land the targets that we were after in the transfer window and there you go. If Tomas’ is more of a long-term one, which it could be, I don’t know at the moment. It could be a lengthy one, it’s too early to say, I suppose.”
In midfield, without Williams, starters Alex Scott and Matty James after joined by Andy King as the only recognised senior specialists in the position with the potential for Omar Taylor-Clarke to now step up.
City elected to loan out Han-Noah Massengo in January to Auxerre, as the French midfielder runs his contract down, while academy prospect Dylan Kadji joined League Two Swindon Town on a temporary deal.
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