Nigel Pearson has confirmed Alex Scott suffered a minor knee ligament injury on international duty, ruling him out of this weekend's game against Reading at Ashton Gate, while being unable to provide a timescale on the teenager's return.
The Bristol City midfielder limped off in the 83rd minute of England Under-20s draw with France on Tuesday, his third game over the two-week break, following a challenge inside his own area. Scott attempted to continue after receiving treatment but fell back to the ground leading to his substitution.
The 19-year-old returned from international duty on Wednesday meaning the club have had little time to assess the full severity of his injury. The biggest concern, although only speculation for now, remains his availability for the rest of the season ahead of an expected high-profile transfer to the Premier League.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's visit of the Royals, Pearson said: "It’s just frustrating when you pick other injuries up like Alex Scott came off for England the other night. He won’t be available this weekend.
"It’s a minor knee ligament injury but I don’t know what the timeframe we’d put on that at the moment. It’s a bit unfortunate for us and certainly for him. We’ll see. We’ll still assess it, he only got back yesterday. He had it scanned, and we’ll see how that develops.
"It’s contact, but sometimes these things happen. There’s no point dwelling on the fact he’s picked up an injury now.
"Firstly we’ll have to make sure his knee is okay. Our priority now is to look after the interests of the player. Everything else at the moment is secondary. Him playing for us for instance, he’ll come back not when we need him, but when he’s ready to come back."
Scott has started 37 out of City's 38 Championship games this season with only Zak Vyner earning more game time. It came on the back of representing England Under-19 in their European Championship victory last summer meaning he has barely had a break having featured 39 times last season.
The midfielder, who is the most fouled player in the Championship having been brought down 87 times this season, is also set to represent England U20 in their World Cup campaign kicking off later in May meaning, for a second consecutive year, he'll have little time to recuperate ahead of next season.
Pearson admitted it's inevitable given the number of games that players will sustain injuries and cited Tomas Kalas as an example. The Czech Republic international made his first start in almost a year before the break with the City manager suggesting he had reached a "saturation point" after a combination of club and international football.
"I understand it, I’ve been a national coach for England, and I know what it is like you want to play your best players," Pearson added. "He’s played a lot of football, it’s unfortunate.
"I always send our players on international duty with our best wishes. It’s always an honour to play for your country. Anis (Mehmeti) made his debut (for Albania) which is brilliant for him.
"In terms of the volume of football, it’s clear that we’ve relied heavily on Alex, and he’s played an awful lot of football in two years. We’ve got a player in Tomas Kalas, who is currently or has been out for similar reasons. There’s an accumulative effect on players.
"He’s a talented player, he’s been very good for us over the 80-something games he’s played for us. It’s just unfortunate for him, it’s inevitable that players do pick injuries up.
"The modern game is very dynamic, he’s always heavily involved in games and he attracts a lot of challenges. We’ve had games of late where teams have physically targeted him.
"It’s another part of the game, you’ve got to deal with it. Disappointing for us that he’s missing, but the most important thing is he recovers properly from this, and he’s then able to go back into the fray for us first and foremost. Outside of that, the international scene will have to wait."
Scott's absence could mean Mehmeti may play in the No10 role against Reading while Andi Weimann will also push for a start. Pearson confirmed Matty James is fit following his ankle injury, as is Tommy Conway, but Kal Naismith remains sidelined for another week with a calf injury.
"Tommy Conway will be available, Matty James will be available, Kal will probably need another week or something like that, but he's back out on the grass with us but they've made progress," Pearson added. "Tomas Kalas is doing okay so hopefully, he won't be too long either."
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