Bristol City head coach Liam Manning’s resources could be bolstered further by the return of two key players in time for the Championship schedule to resume following the current international break.
Midfielder Joe Williams has returned to training after an ankle injury, while defender Rob Atkinson played 45 minutes for the Under-21s on Monday evening, continuing his positive progress after tearing his ACL.
Williams last played for the Robins on October 7, prior to the last international break, and he suffered an injury in training in the final training session before facing Coventry City, which former manager Nigel Pearson said would keep him out for around two weeks.
Williams rejoined his teammates at the High Performance Centre last Friday, and with a full training schedule over the next two weeks, he could be in contention for a place in the matchday squad for Middlesbrough’s visit to Ashton Gate on November 25.
The Scouser has made 11 appearances for City this season, 10 as a starter, and has been a consistent starter under Pearson. It will be interesting to see how this changes under Manning.
At QPR, the new Robins manager chose to play Matty James alongside Jason Knight at the base of his midfield. But, as Knight moved into a more advanced role, Taylor Gardner-Hickman made an impact off the bench at Loftus Road, indicating that this could be the desired trio for the game against Boro.
“Joe’s getting close,” Manning said. “He was in training on Friday so we’re expecting him to be back in the group but there are elements where you have to be careful, be sensible and see how he responds to the work.”
Meanwhile, Atkinson was part of the U21 team that lost 1-0 to Sunderland in the Premier League Cup on Monday night at a wet and windy Failand. The 25-year-old has been out of action since rupturing his ACL in February at Sunderland and has been training at the HPC for the last few weeks, though City will be cautious about when he returns to senior football.
Rob Dickie and Zay Vyner are in good form, and with Kal Naismith on the bench, there is no need to rush Atkinson back because the Robins have plenty of time to manage his recovery effectively.
With Williams and Atkinson nearing returns and Ayman Benarous back in training, Manning’s absences are Ross McCrorie (recovering from surgery), Andy King (hamstring), Haydon Roberts and Nahki Wells (both ankle).
McCrorie is not expected to return until next year, and Manning confirmed at QPR that Wells will not return to training until after the international break. “Nahki’s going to be a little bit longer, unfortunately, he’s still a couple of weeks away,” he went on to say.
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