Talk about a catch 22.
It’s fair to say that the Blues haven’t had the best of luck when it comes to injuries so far this season.
Speaking during his press conference, Pep Clotet gave an update on a number of first-teamers who have been out of action:
“Jonathan and Cheick have been training with us for a few days, after Groundsy came back in this week. They’re now getting their fitness back. Jude had a lot of physical load last week and it was tough for him the last moments of the game. But he’s had a good week of training and is back on track. Fran is okay and he’s had a normal week training though now so that should be it, and he has recovered”
I’m not sure what my feeling are on this, whilst it is great to have a number of players coming back from injury, I feel that it’s going to be tough for most of them to make their way into the starting eleven.
Birmingham have won two games in a row, three out of their last five and currently sit 8th in the table. So despite the negative comments that manager Clotet has been receiving in the past couple of weeks, it’s fair to say that the team is certainly doing well with the bodies they already have, so will these players be able to get their place in the team back when they are fully recovered?
Take for instance someone like Fran Villalba, who played the five games leading up to Charlton but missed out on that trip due to a bit of muscle tightness. To call him up, you might have to consider dropping Jude Bellingham to the bench, and after two goals in his last two games, that might not be the wisest decision.
Do you want to risk breaking up a squad that has been doing so well in favour of those coming back from injury? Thankfully it’s not my job to have to work it out, that’s Pep’s responsibility.
What about you? Do you think that these players coming back will be able to contribute something to the team? Or would you rather things stayed as they are so as to not disrupt the formula as it were?
