Birmingham City backed to deal with 'painful loss' - Chris Davies has clear solution | OneFootball

Birmingham City's Kai Wagner suffered a shoulder injury in their defeat at Millwall, leaving Chris Davies short of natural left-backs in his squad.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Birmingham City endured a night to forget at The Den on Wednesday as they were hammered 3-0 by Millwall.

As well as that, Jhon Solis was sent off, which means he will serve a one-game ban, and the result has left Blues in a difficult position as they try to close the gap on the play-off places.

If that wasn’t enough, Kai Wagner was forced off with a shoulder injury, which is a major blow considering how well he has performed since his arrival from Philadelphia Union in the January window.

Kai Wagner could face spell on the sidelines for Birmingham City

Whilst it’s too soon to know exactly how long Wagner will be out, he looked in real pain during the game, and boss Chris Davies has admitted it’s a concern.

Wagner has settled quickly into life at St. Andrew’s, bringing energy and quality down the left flank, along with excellent delivery.

The 29-year-old was signed due to Alex Cochrane’s injury issues, who isn’t expected to return until April. With Lee Buchanan yet to play since suffering a serious knee injury over a year ago, it has created a real headache for the Blues chief.

However, there was some positive news, as Ethan Laird has been back involved in the last two games, and he did replace Wagner at The Den, so it seems likely he will go into the XI against Middlesbrough on Monday, in what will be a stern test for Davies’ men.

When quizzed by FLW about how big an issue this is for the team, Birmingham fan pundit Jason acknowledged that Wagner had been impressive, but he felt Laird could step in to do a job.

“It’s going to be huge, in terms of he has been absolute quality since he came in. You’ve got to hope that Alex Cochrane isn’t far away, Lee Buchanan is back in training and Ethan Laird’s back, who can cover the role.

“So, as much as it’s a painful loss because of how good he has been, I have more than enough faith in Laird.

“It does leave us a bit thin again, and you’re putting pressure on Laird to stay fit, who has just been out for three months. Fingers crossed we can keep players fit, otherwise it could really cost us. It’s not ideal, as we’re down to one player who can play left-back, and he’s not a conventional left back, so we’ll see what happens and it’s not ideal losing Wagner as he has been superb.”

Birmingham City have the squad to cope with the run-in

This is a real setback, as Wagner has been very good for Blues, and it’s no coincidence that the upturn in form came after he joined, with the Millwall game his first defeat in the league.

But, these things happen in football, and the reality is that Davies has a packed squad that is full of options.

Of course, left-back is now a problem with Wagner and Cochrane out injured, but Laird is more than good enough to play at this level, whilst Jack Robinson could cover if needed, and he has plenty of experience in that position over the years.

Every club has injuries, and it’s about dealing with that adversity and getting results.

The Millwall performance was alarming, but, in fairness, it was a rare off-day, as Birmingham have been brilliant in 2026, so they won’t dwell on that.

Now, all attention is on Boro, with Laird likely to start at left-back as Blues look to get back on track with what would be a massive win.