Birmingham City injury update dropped on 29-y/o - they'll need him for Derby County clash | OneFootball

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies has provided an injury update on Patrick Roberts ahead of their trip to Derby County on Saturday.

Chris Davies has confirmed that he hopes to have Patrick Roberts available for Birmingham City’s trip to Derby County on Saturday.

The winger started the season on the bench, but he was handed his first league start of the campaign against Southampton, with Roberts providing an assist.

Roberts then kept his place against Wolves, and he once again set up a goal, with his impressive pass finding Jay Stansfield before he thundered home.

Chris Davies provides Patrick Roberts injury update

Therefore, when the 29-year-old wasn’t in the squad against Norwich on Wednesday night, it was clearly fitness related.

And, speaking to Birmingham Live after the game, Davies explained that Roberts had actually travelled to Norfolk, and there is a hope that he could feature against Derby this weekend.

“He was here. He was touch and go all through the day, we were trying to get him ready but in the end we just couldn't quite get the tick that we needed. He will be touch and go for Derby.”

Carlos Vicente replaced Roberts for the 2-1 defeat at Norwich, and the Spaniard did score Blues’ only goal of the game, although he did miss a great chance to salvage a point late on.

Patrick Roberts was missed in Birmingham City’s loss at Norwich

Roberts has been in good form for Blues, so there’s no denying that he was missed at Carrow Road.

As he has shown over the years, the ex-Sunderland man is capable of producing moments of magic, whether that’s by beating his opponent or finding a pass.

So, Davies would’ve wanted him in the squad, but the pleasing thing is that Davies’ comments show that the injury clearly isn’t a bad one.

Of course, it would be great for Blues if he could be involved at Pride Park on Saturday, but the reality is that the boss won’t take any risks at this stage of the season.

Birmingham City have the squad depth to cope with the Championship

Ultimately, these things happen in football, and the fact Davies could bring in a player like Vicente shows that Birmingham have a lot of strength in depth.

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The January signing hasn’t always lived up to expectations since his arrival, but there’s no doubting his quality, and Davies will hope that the goal against the Canaries can boost his confidence, as he will have a big role to play on Saturday as well if Roberts remains out, with Demarai Gray also having fitness issues.

The defeat at Norwich was a setback, especially after the second half performance against Wolves, but Blues are still in a decent position after what was a very challenging fixture list to start the season.

Even though Davies’ men have only won once, that was their first defeat, and Blues would argue that things would’ve been different had Liam Millar’s goal not been controversially disallowed for offside.