‘No definite decision’ on whether James stays at City
MATTY James has been ruled out of Bristol City’s final game of the season at Stoke City as he undergoes minor surgery on a hernia but head coach Liam Manning has hinted the midfielder could remain in BS3 beyond this summer.
City captain James, pictured, is one of four first-team players out of contract next month, alongside Joe Williams, Andy King and Andi Weimann, and his absence on Saturday means, unless anything changes, his last appearance for the club will be the 64 minutes he played in the 2-0 win over Rotherham United.
Technical director Brian Tinnion revealed on Robins TV a contract offer has been presented to Williams to extend his stay in the West Country but there was no mention of James, who joined the club three years ago under Nigel Pearson. Should Williams stay, with Max Bird arriving from Derby County after his loan-back for the second half of the season, plus Jason Knight and Taylor Gardner-Hickman also in place, City will have four senior central midfielders for 2024-25, not counting those who play further up the pitch or younger talents such as Adam Murphy and Jed Meerholz.
But Manning has indicated that number could swell to five, with talks ongoing and meetings still taking place to determine James’ future.
“Not definitely that, no, I wouldn’t say that,” Manning said, when it was proposed to him that James may have played his last game for the club. “I’ve got some more meetings this week.
“He’s done a terrific job, Jamo, I’ve really enjoyed working with him and it’s a case of just seeing what that looks like. There’s no definite decision on that yet.”
Cam Pring has also made his final appearance in 2023-24 with the left-back also undergoing a procedure for a similar problem to James, which has dogged him throughout most of the year. With the Robins safely positioned in mid-table, having the surgery now should enable the 26-year-old to recover and be ready for the start of pre-season in mid-June.
“It’s nothing major, it’s just an opportunity to get it cleaned up quickly and give him a rest and get him right for day one (of pre-season),” Manning added.
Kal Naismith (calf ), Sam Bell, Rob Atkinson, and Ayman Benarous (all hamstring) are also projected to be in position to resume training in about six weeks, having all experienced extended periods out of the first-team picture.
“That’s the plan at the minute,” said Manning. “We’ve actually got a little bit more time on the end of it so it’s not a rush to get them back, we’ve got a bit of extra time with the off-season, which helps.
“So we’ve sat down, had some meetings as to what their off-season looks like and they’re working quite tightly together and that’s been a big plus in that they’ve been able to support each other through the challenges. Looking forward to getting them back for pre-season.
“Their plans are designed specifically for them, they’ll be getting a programme bespoke to them and of course they’ll have to be in for periods to make sure we have as many in for day one of pre-season as is possible.”
With Pring missing from the starting XI on Saturday, should Manning stick with the 3-4-2-1 system that has served City well throughout their seven-match unbeaten run, the expectation will be that Haydon Roberts will move across from the side of the back three into a wing-back role.
That then opens up a place in the defence which could be occupied by Zak Vyner, who has missed the last three games due to a knee complaint.