‘Disappointment’: Nigel Pearson issues Bristol City injury update on Kal Naismith

Bristol City are to be without utility man Kal Naismith for at least the next fortnight after the severity of his calf injury was revealed.

Naismith was substituted after just half-hour against Preston North End 10 days ago and was replaced by Joe Williams. He did not play against Norwich City, and will now miss a reunion with his former club Wigan Athletic, as well as other matches.

The Robins have fixtures against Sunderland, Hull City, and the glamour FA Cup tie against Manchester City to look forward to but Naismith is likely to miss out. He underwent a scan last week to understand the severity of the injury, with City not prepared to take any risks with their summer signing.

Naismith suffered a calf injury in October, and that ruled him out of action until the Championship resumed after a break for the World Cup break. It is in the same area, and for a while during his first spell out with injury, it impacted the Scotsman from participating in training.

He has been played as a centre-midfielder in the last month, in a move that has coincided with their run of good form. The former Luton Town man initially took his place amongst a back three in the centre, and also played at left-back against Rotherham United, but has since changed position in a role that was unfamiliar to him despite his versatility.

“He will be out for a few weeks so outside of saying that I don’t think I can give you really any realistic timeframe,” said first-team manager Nigel Pearson when asked for an update on Naismith. Naismith underwent a scan last week, and the severity of the injury is now understood.

“He’ll be out for a number of games which is a disappointment for us and him but there we go, it’s a part of football I am afraid, you’ll just have to deal with it.

“It will be the same squad for this game and we’ve not picked up anything of any note. We go in to this next couple of games with the same sort of squad. Hopefully, we can negotiate tomorrow in the same sort of fashion.”

Fortunately, City do not have any injury problem in the centre of the park, and there are various options to call upon in Naismith’s absence. Williams was given the go-ahead on Saturday, and he played the entirety of the match in the 1-0 win over Norwich. The 26-year-old had a long-term hamstring problem but has since overcome that and is ready to step up in his absence.

Nigel Pearson has played a 4-3-3 system in the last month and has played a consistent midfield three of Alex Scott, Matty James, and Kal Naismith, with Williams stepping in Naismith’s absence. Andy King is another option if substitutes are needed with King also over the hamstring problems that plagued him for the majority of last season.

As for other options, Dylan Kadji was sent out on a valuable loan spell to Swindon Town, but Omar Taylor-Clarke is still with the club and could find himself getting several cameo appearances from now until the end of the season. Taylor-Clarke made his debut against Swansea City in the FA Cup replay against Swansea, and also came on against West Brom at the end of January.