Birmingham City suffer two new injuries ahead of Swansea clash - and two others remain out

Birmingham City are set to be without four players for this weekend’s hosting of Swansea in the Championship.

The 1-0 defeat away at Stoke City last Saturday wasn’t the only blow for Blues as Chris Davies saw his team selection limited by two new injuries. Attacking midfield pair Keshi Anderson and Willum Willumsson didn’t make the trip to the bet365 Stadium and they are likely to miss several more fixtures to come.

Although the exact injury problems aren’t specified, they are serious enough to keep both Anderson and Willumsson out for the next four fixtures at least. “Those two look like they will be unavailable until the next international break," Davies told Birmingham Live after the defeat to Stoke.

It’s a big blow for both players, but especially Anderson. The 30-year-old has been hampered by injuries throughout his career but he seemed to have finally thrown off the shackles last term as he played 2,219 minutes in League One, scoring seven goals and providing five assists. This latest setback will be tough to take, but he’ll be working hard to return.

Willumsson will be in a similar position over the next few weeks as he targets a return in October. The Iceland international had a mixed season in League One as he scored six and assisted six in 41 games. He’s yet to contribute to a goal in the Championship but he’ll be eager to change that when he’s back in the fray.

Two other Birmingham stars out for the long term

Anderson and Willumsson aren’t the only ones at the treatment table as Lee Buchanan and Scott Wright are still recovering from long-term knee injuries. The pair are a long way off returning to match action but they will be gradually reintegrated into the group.

Knee injuries are particularly problematic as players lose so much muscle mass in one leg, and it takes a long time to build that back up. Then there’s the huge drop-off in overall fitness. “Their planned progression back into training is towards the back end of the year. Both, we would hope, would be ready to go in the new year,” Davies said recently.

“Lee is a little bit behind Scott, even though Scott was injured after Lee. Both are working very hard to be fair to them – I’m getting updates every day from the physio. They are at the more exciting part of their process now, starting to venture outside a little bit more and moving their legs a little bit more.”

Blues in strong position despite injuries

With Anderson and Willumsson now joining Buchanan and Wright, the total number of players in the treatment room has reached four. It’s never ideal to lose players but Birmingham are fortunate to have remarkable squad depth, bolstered further by 12 new additions getting over the line in the recent summer transfer window.

In attacking midfield and on the wings, where Anderson, Willumsson and Wright play, Blues have a plethora of options in Demarai Gray, Patrick Roberts, Jay Stansfield, Kanya Fujimoto, Tommy Doyle and Marvin Ducksch. Then, at left-back, Alex Cochrane has been excellent in Buchanan’s absence.