Exclusive: Birmingham City handed surprise Willum Willumsson injury boost | OneFootball

The Blues look set to get the Iceland international back sooner than planned.

Willum Willumsson has kicked on in his treatment from injury and could return to action for Birmingham City sooner than expected, Football League World can exclusively reveal.

The Icelandic international has been sidelined since the end of August with a problem that has not been detailed by the club.

So far, he has missed eight matches since he last appeared in a Blues shirt during the 2-0 defeat at Leicester City.

His absence has been felt on the pitch too, with Brum sitting 15th in the Championship with just four wins from their opening 12 games of the season.

Birmingham City set for surprise Willum Willumsson injury boost

Willumsson, 27, was not expected to be seen potentially until after the next transfer window, but he has made quicker progress than initially thought.

Birmingham boss Chris Davies said last week when asked about crocked stars Willumsson and Marvin Ducksch: “Willum is a bit further behind Marvin.

“He has not been able to get going and train outside, so he is going to be a few more weeks.”

However, Football League World can exclusively reveal that it's our understanding his improvement since then has been marked.

Davies did indicate that Ducksch had returned to full training, but he was not expected to be fit either for the game at Bristol City.

However, he came on from the bench at Ashton Gate and looks likely to feature this weekend against Portsmouth.

Willumsson is not as far advanced as Ducksch, however, who has yet to ignite his career at St Andrew’s because of injury since he joined from Werder Bremen for £2m during the summer.

It may be that the home double-header against Pompey (November 1) and Millwall (November 4) is too soon for him.

And if he doesn’t feature in the away game at Middlesbrough (November 8) before the international break, he is likely to be rested until the end of November.

However, it appears that the upturn in his fitness is marked, which will add to Davies’s options ahead of the visit of John Mousinho’s side.

Willumsson being ahead of schedule could be injection of attacking cutting edge Birmingham need

Having joined Blues from Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles in last year's summer transfer window, Willumsson instantly carved out a key role in Birmingham's side during his debut 2024/25 campaign at St Andrew's.

A versatile attacking midfielder who can operate both through the middle of the pitch and down the flanks, the imposing Icelander made 41 appearances in League One last term, starting 36 of those.

His six goals and six assists ensured he'd play a leading role in helping Davies' side storm to the third tier title, and he was also able to add an extra goal and three further assists across various cup competitions, taking his total tally to seven goals and nine assists in 48 games.

Therefore, the fact he's only been able to play 158 minutes of Championship football this season has been a huge blow for Blues, and his absence in attack has been evident.

Birmingham have just 11 goals to their name heading into Saturday's meeting with Portsmouth, and their goals per game average of 0.9 currently ranks as the 20th-lowest in the division, as per FotMob.

So, if Willumsson can make his Blues return in the coming games, he could provide the spark that really ignites this misfiring Birmingham attack.