Bristol City star could face longer spell out as Nigel Pearson provides Kane Wilson update

Bristol City’s injury situation is improving - but the Robins are being cautious
Kane Wilson (Image: Getty Images) Kane Wilson (Image: Getty Images)
Kane Wilson (Image: Getty Images)

Nigel Pearson says that striker Tommy Conway is making progress but is not yet in consideration to feature for Bristol City as he continues to recover from an injury.

Conway is back training with the first-team and has joined sessions with his teammates, but has not yet made the squad yet. The 20-year-old has been out since suffering a hamstring tendon injury at the start of January against Swansea City.

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The Scotland Under-21 international was enjoying a breakout season and had scored nine goals in 29 matches before he was sidelined. He had won the Player of the Month award for August and was considered one of the best young players in the Football League.

Conway’s injury has ruled him out for the last eight weeks, and that looks to be extended for at least another fortnight. The Taunton-born forward netted the opener against Cardiff in the reverse fixture, but will have to watch on from the sidelines instead of playing a part in this weekend’s clash.

Fortunately Sam Bell has emerged in his absence, and there is also Anis Mehmeti and Harry Cornick to call upon, whilst Nahki Wells is leading the way in the scoring charts at the club this season. City pride themselves on attacking football and require full fitness which is why Conway has not yet come back into consideration.

Pearson said: “He is training with the first team now, he’s had another scan this week which has shown a big improvement, but the difference between training with the first team and going out there (playing).

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“The frontline have got to be able to reproduce levels of running stats which are crazy really. Fatigue’s the biggest problem for a soft tissue injury, and that means fatigue of the muscle and not fatigue of the heart and lungs so he’s not going to be in contention for a couple of weeks yet at least, if not more.”

Tuesday was the first time that summer signing Kane Wilson had been involved in a match-day squad for the senior side. He had played in several matches for the Under-21’s team in a bid to rebuild his fitness, with hour cameos.

Wilson suffered a knee injury in October which required surgery, and the 24-year-old was warned that it was an injury that he would need to monitor for the rest of his career. It has been a frustrating start for life at the club, and is still searching for his first Championship start.

The task of displacing George Tanner, and also Mark Sykes who was deployed there in the second-half against Manchester City is a tough task, and that is an unenviable task, especially when not at full fitness. Wilson’s teammate Tomas Kalas was blooded back in to the side through several cameo appearances, before starting a string of games.

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He said: “He just needs to make sure his conditioning levels continue to improve because he had a decent pre-season. He was playing catch up in pre-season and he’s had just a stop-start time with us so far.

“It’s hard to try and explain the conditioning levels that you need to be able to step in because when we do our training sessions, sometimes it’s on a full pitch with big areas, are the ones where you find out the most about players. Depending on the type of session that you’re looking for, you reduce areas and some players can shine in those small areas but when you step it up there’s still room for improvement.

“It’s difficult to be involved in matchday squads, especially if you’re a sub so you’re missing out on an extra training day on a Saturday morning or a heavy session on a Friday. You can actually fall further behind if you’re not careful and that’s where we need to get the balance right by reintroducing him but also making sure he has the foundation of fitness to be able to step into it because it’s been a frustrating season for him.”

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