Baldwin hoping to be back soon after injury woes

EAGLE-EYED Bristol City fans may have spotted that Aden Baldwin, one of the club’s young players on the fringes of the senior squad, has seemingly disappeared this season.

Despite the inclusion in matchday squads of several academy players this season, there has been no mention of centre-back Aden Baldwin in any of the club’s communications or from head coach Dean Holden.

The Bristol Post can reveal the 23-year-old is injured and has been all season. He suffered a bad hamstring injury in pre-season but is due to return to training in the next few weeks.

Baldwin, pictured, has impressed the coaching staff at the Robins previously, with the former Forest Green Rovers man regularly training with the first-team squad last season.

Lee Johnson was a fan of the player and Baldwin made several matchday squads - though often as the 19th man - to travel to games in the 2019-20 season, including being involved at QPR in the Carabao Cup first-round defeat on penalties to Mark Warburton’s west London side.

But that interest from Johnson was not enough to see any firstteam chances come to pass, and it was expected Baldwin would head out on loan again this season, and a chance further down the football pyramid. Baldwin has not been given a squad number this season after being No 30 for the 2019-20 campaign, a number now taken by Tyreeq Bakinson. Baldwin, who joinned City in January 2016, will now look to regain fitness before he tries to jump-start his career again, following temporary stints previously at Bath City, Cheltenham Town and Eastleigh, in the National League, last season.

His contract runs through to the summer but there is an option year, too.

A loan elsewhere will now hopefully beckon for a player who has been hugely unlucky this season, but who is not too far from playing again.

The Robins are nursing huge injury problems this season, with some 11 players out with injuries or otherwise unavailable.

Alfie Mawson returned from a knee injury in Saturday’s FA Cup third-round tie against Portsmouth at Ashton Gate, but the Robins are still missing other senior key players.