Robins will be without Sykes at the Hammers

MARK Sykes will miss Bristol City’s FA Cup third round tie at West Ham tomorrow after head coach Liam Manning revealed the Republic of Ireland international would be out for “a few weeks”.

Sykes left the field against Millwall on New Year’s Day just 22 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute, with the 26-year-old having been moved to the bench for that fixture due to the volume of minutes he had played over the festive period.

The winger was replaced by Harry Cornick for the final 13 minutes of the 1-0 defeat and promptly walked down the tunnel for assessment, with Manning claiming after the game he was unaware of the full extent or specifics of the injury.

Speaking with club channels before tomorrow’s trip to London to take on the Premier League Hammers, Manning conceded that Sykes had not suffered a “major” injury, but will be absent for an asyet undetermined period of time.

“A small tweak, so he’s going to be out for a few weeks,” Manning said. “Nothing major, nothing of huge concern, but off the back of a really heavy (spell of games), to be fair to Syksey, he’s played a huge amount of minutes and how he plays, he’s so explosive. Just a small tweak, more than anything but we’ll miss him for a few weeks.”

City do have a considerably more straightforward schedule in January, compared to December, with four weekend fixtures, barring a FA Cup replay, meaning Sykes’ absence, while a blow, should not be felt too much in terms of games.

After travelling to West Ham, the Robins have Preston North End at Deepdale next Saturday afternoon followed by the visit of Watford to Ashton Gate on January 20 and then a trip to Coventry City the following weekend.

Sykes has started ten of a possible 11 fixtures under Manning and, over the course of the campaign, he ranks fifth overall in the squad in terms of minutes played with 1,851.

The forward has been a consistent performer on the right flank, taking on a number of roles, and his chemistry with Jason Knight has been a key attacking asset.

Assuming Manning keeps his system in place for the game at the London Stadium, Andi Weimann – who started against Millwall – Sam Bell, Cornick and Ephraim Yeboah will be competing for a place on the right wing.

Manning is unlikely to be able to welcome any long-term absentees back on Sunday with Kal Naismith (hamstring) suffering a small setback in his recovery over Christmas, Rob Atkinson (ACL rehab) and Haydon Roberts (ankle) still weeks away, while extra care and attention will likely to be taken with Ross McCrorie (surgery after bacterial infection) given he is yet to play this season.

West Ham boss David Moyes, who played for City during the 1980s, is expected to freshen up his starting XI for the third-round tie.

Morocco defender Nayef Aguerd and Ghana midfielder Mohammed Kudus are away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, but right-back Vladimir Coufal could be available again after missing the Brighton game through illness.

Lucas Paqueta and captain Kurt Zouma continue to be assessed on their respective calf and knee issues, while forward Michail Antonio is stepping up his own recovery, but is unlikely to be rushed back.