Why Morrison may struggle to get back into Zola’s side

It has been obvious over the past couple of months that Michael Morrison was struggling as his performances haven’t been as reliable and mistakes have been creeping into his game.

His ongoing groin injury seems to be causing him a lot of problems and, the longer that goes on, the harder he may find it to get back in the team.

Along with Morrison, Blues have Ryan Shotton, Paul Robinson, Krystian Bielik and Jonathan Grounds as centre back options which gives Gianfranco Zola food for thought.

Grounds was excellent in the centre back role on Saturday as well as Robinson who put in another top performance for the second game running.

Even at the age of 38, Robinson has proved that he still has a part to play for Blues and his passion shown at the end of the game proved just how much he believes.

He may not be able to play week in week out but he most certainly will still come into the side and put in a performance and lead by example.

But it’s mainly the performance of Grounds that may make it even harder for Morrison to reclaim his spot in the team.

The left back comes under a lot of stick from fans but, in my opinion, he is very undervalued and he is one of our most reliable performers.

His display as a centre back on Saturday was commanding, intelligent and he looked extremely comfortable in that role.

He has obviously played it before but not for a while and that’s what made his performance even more impressive.

The main thing that sticks out for me is that he seemed very comfortable with the ball at his feet and that is something that Morrison struggles with.

Grounds also has the height and a bit more pace than Morrison which serves him well in that position which is why I think that is where his future will be at.

Cheick Keita`s impressive debut could lead to Grounds permanently moving inside to that left centre back position and we could see Shotton partner him.

Unless Morrison can regain his fitness and prove to Zola that he is fully fit and ready to play, then I really don’t think the risk to play him will be taken.

If the other centre backs continue to perform well in Morrison`s absence, then he will find it very difficult to work his way back into the side where he has been a mainstay ever since his arrival at the club.

There’s no doubting that he has been crucial for us over the past couple of years but this injury really seems to have knocked him back and I just hope that we get to see him in top form very shortly once again.