John Eustace confirms double Birmingham City blow | OneFootball

Highlights

Birmingham City look to have been dealt a fresh injury blow over two of their summer signings.

That's after manager John Eustace revealed that full-back Ethan Laird and attacker Tyler Roberts are still some weeks away from returning to action after injury.

How have Laird and Roberts' Birmingham careers gone so far?

Both Laird and Roberts joined the Blues on permanent deals back in the summer transfer window.

Laird arrived from Manchester United on a three-year contract that keeps him at St Andrew's until the summer of 2026, with the Championship club reportedly paying an initial £750,000 for his services, with the 22-year-old previously spending time on loan in the Football League with MK Dons, Swansea, Bournemouth and QPR.

Since then, the full-back has gone on to make three Championship appearances for Eustace's side, although he has missed each of their last four league outings, due to a hamstring injury.

Roberts meanwhile, arrived from Leeds United for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year contract that secures his future with the Midlands club, until the end of the 2026/27 season.

However, the Wales international has since made just one appearance for the club, that coming in a 1-1 draw away at Swansea back on the opening day of the Championship season, with the 24-year-old having subsequently been sidelined with a calf problem.

Now it seems as though Birmingham fans are going to have to wait for a bit longer yet, before they are able to see those two players in action again.

What is the latest Eustace has said about Laird and Roberts' injuries?

It seems as though Birmingham are enduring a frustrating period as they attempt to get Laird and Roberts back up to full fitness.

Eustace has suggested that any time the duo are getting close to being ready to return, they are being hindered by a fresh setback.

Discussing the situation with regards to the fitness of Laird and Roberts, the Blues' boss told Birmingham Live: “Ethan is still a couple of weeks away. Unfortunately he had a bit of a setback last week with his hamstring.

“Tyler is still a few weeks away as well. That’s all I can say. Every time we think we are getting them close something happens.

“We have to protect them because they have come with injury records. We have to look after them and the most important thing is not the short-term, it’s the long-term, so when we get them back they don’t break down again.”

Having gone unbeaten in their opening five games of the Championship season, Birmingham have now suffered back to back defeats to Watford and Preston in their last two outings.

As a result, they now sit seventh in the second-tier standings, with 11 points from their opening seven league games of the campaign.

Eustace's side are next in action on Friday night, when they host QPR at St Andrew's, in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

How big a blow is this update on Roberts and Laird for Birmingham?

This does feel like something of a significant setback for Birmingham as they look to get back on track quickly.

Laird was outstanding for Eustace's side prior to his injury, when he looked set to be a major asset for the club.

Meanwhile, Roberts has also shown in the past that he has the quality to make a major impact in games, so it will be frustrating for the Blues not to have their quality to call upon.

Indeed, given both are new to the club, they will no doubt have wanted to settle in and establish themselves in the starting lineup quickly, something they are now being prevented from doing, meaning these setbacks will surely be tough to take from a personal perspective for Laird and Roberts as well.