Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson has confirmed that midfielder Matty James is a doubt to face Blackpool at the weekend with injury.
The Robins enter the weekend in 13th place in the table following a goalless draw away to 23rd place Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night. Pearson’s side saw their 12 game unbeaten run ended by Manchester City in the FA Cup last week, whilst the defeat against Cardiff City last Saturday ended their nine game unbeaten league run, with a matchup against 22nd place Blackpool next offering a chance to again return to winning ways.
However, they may be without midfielder James to call upon, after Pearson confirmed that the 31-year-old is a doubt to play the Tangerines after he suffered a knock to his ankle in the first half of the goalless draw on Tuesday, Pearson said:
“Matty James will be a concern for the weekend just because of a problem he picked up with his ankle from a challenge in the first half. But he managed to play the full game which is a credit to him.”
Another midfield blow…
Pearson may find his central midfield options stretched on the weekend with James possibly joining Ayman Benarous and Joe Williams on the injury table, after Williams was taken off in the first half against Cardiff and played no part against the Terriers.
The injury to Williams saw Andy King step into the starting line-up for the first time this year, also making his first league appearance of 2023 despite being an unused substitute for nine of the previous ten games.
Pearson failed to name a centre-midfielder on the bench against Huddersfield and could’ve played a part in James seeing out the entire 90 minutes. But should the 31-year-old be unable to add to his 26 Championship appearances so far this season, and break his run of starting the last 20 league games, Pearson could be forced into playing Alex Scott or Andreas Weimann in a deeper role.
Bristol City host Blackpool on Saturday, with kick-off at 12:30 and live on Sky Sports.
