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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Sport
James Piercy

Nigel Pearson's Bristol City squad options boosted by return of injured trio

Bristol City have welcomed back injured trio Antoine Semenyo, Andy King and Callum O’Dowda to full training ahead of Saturday’s Championship visit of Peterborough United.

Footage from the Robins High Performance Centre posted on the club’s YouTube channel shows Semenyo, King and O’Dowda all engaging in drills and being put through physical exercises with the rest of the first-team squad.

Striker Semenyo jarred his knee during the 2-2 draw with West Brom prior to the international break, which prevented him joining the Ghana squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria.

There were initial fears over how serious the injury was for the 22-year-old, given the first half of this season was disrupted by complications resulting from knee surgery he underwent at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.

However, Semenyo, who has scored six goals and added eight assists, appears to be nearing a first-team return with Nigel Pearson expected to give a more detailed assessment during his press conference on Thursday in preparation of the game against Peterborough this weekend.

Winger O’Dowda has been absent from City’s last nine matches after sustaining a knee injury against Reading in early February.

The 26-year-old is out of contract at the end of this season, with the club holding a 12-month option, and has six games to try and show his manager he is worthy of an extension, with Pearson’s message to him in November that he needs to stay fit and show consistency in his performances after two injury-plagued campaigns.

O’Dowda faces a fight to win his place back in the starting XI following Jay Dasilva’s strong form in recent weeks, while Cam Pring has also proved a reliable presence down the left-hand side for the Robins.

King also becomes a free agent in just under three months, and is another who holds an option in his agreement, but has been sidelined since the 3-2 Severnside Derby win over Cardiff on January 22, having undergone a second bout of hamstring surgery this season.

Although an influential figure in the City dressing room, who has performed an important role at the base of midfield when fit, the 33-year-old has been limited to just 10 league starts in 2021/22 after two separate injuries.

Right-back George Tanner, meanwhile, could also be contention to feature against the Posh this weekend having played 45 minutes for the Under-23s on Tuesday after a three-month injury absence. Likewise midfielder Joe Williams, who appears to have recovered from his latest hamstring problem having also been filmed in full training.

Centre-backs Nathan Baker (concussion) and Tomas Kalas (groin) plus playmaker Kasey Palmer (knee) all remain out.

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