Bristol City Receive Two Major Injury Boosts Surrounding Their Key Major Players
Zak Vyner’s absence will only be medium term, while Tommy Conway could return to action “sooner rather than later”
Bristol City assistant manager Curtis Fleming has confirmed that Zak Vyner won’t require surgery on his knee ligament injury, meaning the central defender will be out for a matter of weeks rather than the remainder of the season, while Tommy Conway is closing in on a first-team comeback after returning to training this week.
Vyner missed last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Leicester City after sustaining a knee injury during the first-half of the previous Championship fixture against Plymouth Argyle, in which the 26-year-old played through to complete the game.
Manager Nigel Pearson admitted that having damaged his ACL, the defender could feasibly be out for up to nine months should doctors rule that an operation was the necessary course of action, but after visiting a specialist this week that has been decided against, meaning Vyner’s absence is likely to be between 4-6 weeks.
“Zak Vyner has got a ligament injury, no surgery required after seeing a specialist, so that’s ongoing treatment at the moment,” Fleming said. “It will be a few weeks but that’s great news for him, great news for us and great news for the fans. It will be great to get him back and we’ve got to be careful with him but I thought that was a really good boost for everybody.
“He’s just signed his new contract, Player of the Year last season, he’s had a great start to this season. He’s had such a turnaround in my short time here, he’s really stepped up to the plate and that’s down to him and his character. It’s great it’s not going to be long-term and he’ll be back in with us as soon as we can get him out there.”
Meanwhile, striker Conway should be back on the field before then having trained all week at the Robins High Performance in full-contact sessions after being out since the start of August with a hamstring injury.
Conway suffered the injury after coming on as a second-half substitute against Preston North End and the initial prognosis estimated the 21-year-old would be back around mid to late October.
But the Taunton-born striker looks to be slightly ahead of schedule and even though Saturday’s visit of Stoke City should come a little too soon for him, he could feasibly be involved in matchday squads at Rotherham United or Leeds United. Although Fleming pointed to after the October international break as a realistic timeframe as to when he’ll be able to start a game again.
“Tommy’s been back in training with us, which has been brilliant,” Fleming said. “Chomping at the bit, as he always is. He’s looking fit and looking strong. He’s not too far away. We’re still assessing him and making sure before he gets involved, but it will be a lot sooner than later.
“He’s itching to get back in, maybe not to play 90 minutes, but to get a position on the bench or something. It’s great for him but we don’t want any little hiccups or any little things that push him back an extra week. It’s hard to keep him under control most of the time!”
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