Nigel Pearson provides injury update on Bristol City duo Antoine Semenyo and Ayman Benarous

Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson has provided an update on the injuries of Antoine Semenyo and Ayman Benarous.

The pair both face time out on the sidelines after suffering long-term injuries that will see them miss a chunk of the 2022/23 campaign.

Benarous’ injury was sustained in training towards the end of last season whilst Semenyo’s was a reoccuring problem whilst on international duty with Ghana.

After his career best campaign, Semenyo was called up to the Ghanian national team and featured as a substitute over the Central African Republic.

The 22-year-old though noted a problem and returned after just one cameo appearance with the extent of the damage being enough to see him miss pre-season and the first few games of the season.

Speaking to Robins TV, Pearson said: “It is a frustrating one for him. He had a really good second half of the season. He’s an exciting player. We’ll just have to see how that one goes.

“What is important for him is that he continues to be that type of player. He learned a lot about himself last year when he was injured. He studies his own game and he’s very ambitious too.

“I’m delighted for him and his family that he made his debut for Ghana. Their federation were very diligent in looking after him and making sure he came back so we can make decisions on how to deal with his shin problem.”

Semenyo’s injury has opened up an opportunity for Nahki Wells who would have been next in line for an opportunity.

Wells himself has been on international duty and has not taken part in training this week but will link up with the club for their warm weather training camp abroad next week.

A time scale of three months has been mooted for Semenyo which is close towards missing games to impress Otto Addo as he pushes for a place in the World Cup.

But despite the set back for Semenyo, Pearson has accepted the fate of one of his key players and has not put pressure on him to return immediately.

“We’ll see, I don’t know how long he’ll be out at this moment in time but he will be fine,” he said.

“When one player has an injury problem, it’s an opportunity for someone else. I don’t waste too much energy on the negative aspects of him not being available at the start of the season, you can’t change that.

“We just get on with it and it’s an opportunity for someone else.”

Academy graduate Benarous is the other player that will miss the start of the campaign with a more severe injury.

In training prior to the end of the season match against Huddersfield Town however, he picked up an anterior cruciate ligament injury that sidelines players for up to nine months.

The 18-year-old broke into the first team last season and played 12 times, both as a midfielder as well as a makeshift wing-back.

Like Semenyo, there is no specific time scale for him to return but he has already returned to the High Performance Centre where he is undergoing treatment for his injury, whilst being surrounded by his teammates.

Pearson added: ““I was absolutely devastated for him in how it happened at the end of last season. How you deal with setbacks over your career will define who you are. He will get all the support he needs, he’ll come back and be fine.

“Hopefully he’ll be back around Christmas to being available. We’re not going to put time frames on it which then puts the lad under pressure.

“It is important he comes back and recovers from this. It’s not the career threatening injury that it probably was twenty or thirty years ago but it’s still a serious injury he has to overcome but he’s in good spirits.”