3 Birmingham City players already ruled out of Stoke City clash | OneFootball

The Birmingham City boss has given an update on the availability of Bright Osayi-Samuel, Ethan Laird, Jack Robinson and Demarai Gray

Birmingham City manager Chris Davies has issued injury updates on Jack Robinson, Demarai Gray, and Ethan Laird, while removing any concerns around the availability of a returning Bright Osayi-Samuel.

The Blues take on Stoke City on Saturday, fresh off just their third away win all season at Sheffield Wednesday in midweek, and will be bolstered by the return of Bright Osayi-Samuel.

The 28-year-old has missed the last seven games due to his commitments with the Nigerian national team at the recent African Cup of Nations, and there were some concerns after he was substituted with an injury in their third-place play-off win over Egypt.

However, Chris Davies, via Birmingham Live, has confirmed that the right-back will be available, which is good news for the Blues, who have had to integrate forgotten man Alfons Sampsted in his absence.

The Birmingham boss has, though, confirmed the absence of three key names, but ensured that their return will be within the next month.

Chris Davies gives Birmingham City injury report ahead of Stoke City clash

Birmingham manager Chris Davies has revealed that Osayi-Samuel will be fit to play a part in his first Blues game since being called up to the Nigerian national team for AFCON, despite seemingly suffering an injury in the third-place play-off game against Egypt.

The 28-year-old was substituted just past the hour mark for Alex Iwobi, who netted one of the penalties in the shootout victory for the Super Eagles.

However, the injury hasn't been severe enough to see him miss further action, as Davies stated that "he is available" pre-Stoke.

"There was a little something in there, but we've had him checked out, and he's trained today.

"He's back, which is great news, and congratulations to him for his performances and Nigeria's in the tournament. Although they couldn't go on to win it, they certainly did the country proud."

Unfortunately, while Osayi-Samuel's report brings about good news, the same can't be said for Robinson, Grey and Laird, who remain out for Stoke's visit to St Andrew's.

But, Chris Davies believes that their returns are all on the horizon, as despite all three suffering different injuries that have kept them out for different timeframes, the trio should be back sometime next month.

"I would group Demarai, Jack and Ethan in terms of a timeline together," the Blues boss continued. "We're still a good few weeks away from them actually training, then once they get training, they need to build a little bit.

"They all have different injuries, but I think they'll be returning to training at a similar time, but we're talking well into February."

Bright Osayi-Samuel injury relief is perfect for Birmingham City

The eventual return of Gray, Laird and Robinson would give the Blues a much-needed boost going into the final stages of the campaign, but as it stands, the sheer quality in depth at Davies' disposal will help plug the gaps.

In Robinson's absence, Phil Neumann has been an apt replacement next to Christoph Klarer. As for Gray, attacking arrivals, Ibrahim Osman and August Priske, will help shoulder that load alongside the plethora of already established talent Birmingham has in those areas.

As for Laird, his versatility on either side of the back four has been a big miss for the Blues since he went down with a hamstring injury back in late September.

Birmingham have been light on options at full-back over the past few months, and the news that Alex Cochrane will be missing "until the latter stages of the season" has made that situation even worse, even if new signing Kai Wagner has hit the ground running in his absence.

Therefore, the return of Osayi-Samuel was highly anticipated at St Andrew's, even if the 28-year-old was in and out of contention for a few months before he left for AFCON, as it added extra depth at arguably the weakest position in terms of personnel.

Coming back with a long-term injury would have been a disaster, but the Nigerian international looks primed and ready to regain his spot, which is a big boost for a Birmingham side looking to win back-to-back Championship games for the first time since early November this weekend.