Birmingham City learn significant injury fate before Barnsley and Peterborough clashes

Birmingham City winger Emil Hansson has suffered a new injury and is now a significant doubt for Blues’ upcoming trip to Wembley.

The Swede has hardly been able to catch a break with injuries this season, twice sidelined for prolonged periods before this latest setback. Signed for over £1 million from Heracles Almelo, the 26-year-old looked set to become an important player but he’s been unable to build any real momentum.

Hansson has started just 16 matches across all competitions this term, coming off the bench in a further six games. In that time, the winger has scored only two goals and made two assists. For comparison, Hansson netted 21 goals and notched 27 assists in 53 appearances for Heracles across the two previous seasons.

As Hansson was absent from the Blues squad that narrowly beat Bristol Rovers 2-1 on Tuesday night, there were suspicions he may have picked up an injury. Those fears were confirmed on Thursday as manager Chris Davies previewed this weekend’s clash with Barnsley.

“Frustratingly for Emil and us, he picked up a bit of a knock in training the day before the game, so that’s disappointing,” Davies told Birmingham Live. “It’s not a season-ender, it will be a few weeks maximum. We’ll have to see how he goes in the next few days.”

This latest knock could rule Hansson out of both meetings with Peterborough United next week, the second of which is the highly-anticipated Vertu Trophy final at Wembley on April 13. That would be a devastating blow for the Bergen-born attacker, especially as he was just beginning to look sharp upon his full return from a previous injury.

It looks like Hansson will at least miss this Saturday’s hosting of Barnsley in League One, then it will become clearer how he’s progressing as Blues prepare for the trip to Peterborough on Tuesday. The cup final is then on the Sunday, so it’s a race against time.

Two other Birmingham stars ruled out

In other team news, this weekend’s clash with Barnsley also comes too soon for captain Krystian Bielik and versatile midfielder Taylor Gardner-Hickman, though Davies is already used to not having the pair available.

Bielik has missed the last two games against Bristol and Shrewsbury Town with a minor issue he’s pushing to shake off, while Gardner-Hickman has now been out for a month with an unknown problem. There’s hope they can both return soother rather than later.

“Taylor is close to training with the team again,” Davies added, also via Birmingham Live. “That is scheduled for early next week so he’s pretty much there, more or less, but then you need to build up again. Krystian Bielik has just been managing a niggle. It’s nothing major but it’s something we’re working with him on.”

Blues are in the business end of the season now, so it’s up to the entire squad to make one last push. Top of League One with an 11-point lead and two matches in hand, the title is tantalisingly close.

In other news, four big Birmingham deals are already in the pipeline ahead of the summer transfer window.