Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Naismith to return but Twine issue ‘frustrating’
KAL Naismith is set to be included in a Bristol City matchday squad for the first time in three months today – but the Robins remain without the services of Scott Twine as the on-loan playmaker continues to be troubled by a quad injury.
Naismith left the field with a hamstring injury in the defeat at Southampton on November 29, but after making an appearance for the Under-21s earlier this month has trained all week at the Robins High Performance Centre and will be in contention to be involved against Cardiff City this afternoon.
It seems unlikely the Scot will go straight into the starting XI given Rob Dickie and Zak Vyner’s wellestablished partnership at the heart of defence, while George Tanner provides the additional option should head coach Liam Manning elect to play three at the back.
But Naismith does provide depth in the position and a natural leftsided presence, while he could also be considered in a midfield capacity if needed. That could be of relevance should Matty James not be given the green light to play.
James missed last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday with a minor injury and, although the midfielder had a reduced training session on Thursday, he was still in a degree of pain, throwing his involvement this weekend into doubt.
Twine, meanwhile, will miss out altogether as the quad injury he sustained on his debut against Watford on January 20 continues to hold him back and Manning has been without the playmaker for six Sky Bet Championship games now, which has proven to be a deeply frustrating scenario for all concerned.
“Naisy’s been training, so we’ll see how he responds,” Manning said. “We’re frustrated and disappointed that Twiney can’t seem to shake this little thing in his quad. We’ve scanned it, checked it, and we can only treat what’s presented to us, so he’s not quite there yet. It’s now been a long period of time he’s been out, which is hugely frustrating for all but, at the same point, we have to make sure he gets back right.
“Jamo was outside there this morning to see how he responds because he’s still carrying a bit of pain, but he’s someone who knows his body terrifically well and he’s able to feed back how he feels. He’s struggling for the weekend, but we’ve got Naisy back.”
One positive on the injury front has been the return to training of Ayman Benarous, with the young midfielder having experienced nearly two years of injury misery following two ACL issues and then hamstring problems since the autumn, which have delayed his intended comeback.
The 20-year-old who last played for City on April 30, 2022, has trained over the last two weeks at the HPC with the intensity of his sessions being gradually increased and Manning hopes the playmaker can be involved in an U21s clash soon to further build up his fitness, with the end goal being a first-team game before the end of the season.
Basement side Bristol City host second-bottom Brighton in the Women’s Super League tomorrow.