Bristol City star could make injury comeback after two-year absence

Liam Manning has given hope that Ayman Benarous could play for Bristol City before the 2023/24 campaign is out.

The 20-year-old has not played a game for the senior team since the 30th April 2022. He suffered an ACL injury in training almost two years ago and has suffered several setbacks since.

But, Benarous was pictured in a training video released by the club earlier this week, and his manager revealed the impressive progress the young midfielder is making.

"Delighted, he has had a tough, long period out and I've been really impressed. He's trained with us now for a few weeks and we’re going to look to get him involved in a u21s game soon.

"In terms of how he's done in training, he's made a really positive impression and I'm looking forward to seeing how he comes back."

The midfielder re-ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in December 2022, ruling him out for the entirety of the last campaign and since then it has been a long road to recovery.

Benarous did make a return to action earlier this season for the under-21's team but then in November was ruled out with an injury that would put him out for a 'considerable amount of time' according to manager Manning.

When asked whether the talent could feature for City's first-team before the conclusion of the season, Manning said: "Possibly, possibly, I'd never want to rule it out.

"The u21s game could be close, I think with the duration he's been out you don’t want to force it or rush it and set him back. You do have to be careful so we’ll look to increase his workload in u21s and in training and see how he responds."

The central midfielder is just one of a few players who have come off the conveyor belt of talent at the High Performance Centre.

He made 12 first-team appearances which were given to him under Nigel Pearson and is highly thought of by those in the first-team and academy set-up.

Benarous signed a new deal with the club in February 2022 and is under contract with City until the summer of 2025.