Nigel Pearson provides update on status of injured Bristol City defender

Tomas Kalas remains sidelined for the foreseeable future, reveals Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson.

Kalas hasn’t played since early March after undergoing surgery for a groin injury, which was sustained over a prolonged period.

He had played regularly for City and also featured for the Czech Republic national team, which gave him minimal recovery time between seasons, which has eventually caught up with him.

The 29-year-old has been seen around the first-team on a number of match days but only as a supporting figure.

He had appeared in an open training session but remains a long-term absentee in an area that requires depth.

Pearson commented to City’s official TV channel Robins TV: “Tomas, because of the type of injury that he’s had, it’s a bit of a slow recovery but he will hopefully be back in the mix with us in the autumn.

“He’s had a procedure which is quite a difficult one to get to, so, I’ve said it before, he’s played with a bit of discomfort for a while now and we’ll just see how this one progresses.

“But hopefully he’ll be back sometime in maybe October or November which will be good for us because we operate with a tight squad.”

He is entering the final year of his contract having joined permanently from Chelsea in 2019 after a successful loan spell in the season prior.

Pearson’s current system has three centre-backs which has been Kal Naismith, Rob Atkinson and Zak Vyner, whilst Timm Klose is available as a back-up option.

Former Cardiff City and Leeds United defender Sol Bamba has been training with the club but did not feature for the Under-21’s in midweek after appearing last week against Birmingham City.

They are permitted to bring in one free agent signing which would likely be a centre-back should they explore the market with the likes of Gary Cahill, Sean Morrison and Michael Hector available.

City however did not make a signing for the first-team from July 5 onwards with only an injury crisis prompting Pearson into business.

There are a few players that have been deployed in central positions with forgotten man George Tanner played as a right-sided centre-back, whilst Under-21’s captain Joe Low scored in midweek against Sheffield Wednesday.