Wright, Hansson, Sampsted, Buchanan - Birmingham City injury latest before Blackpool
Birmingham City injury latest ahead of the FA Cup tie at Blackpool as boss Chris Davies updates on a host of absentees
Chris Davies is hoping to have a trio of his stricken Birmingham City stars back and available to him in time for the congested festive schedule. Wingers Emil Hansson and Scott Wright, as well as right-back Alfons Sampsted, are all currently sidelined and unable to train with their colleagues, who are having to pick up the slack in their absence.
Blues head to Blackpool for a date with Steve Bruce in the second round of the FA Cup on Sunday (1pm kick off) and while Davies intends to make changes to the side which impressively bounced back at Exeter City in the week, following the dismal result at lowly Shrewsbury Town last weekend, his pool of options isn't as deep as it might have been.
Hansson limped off in the win over Bolton Wanderers last month with a leg injury, while Rangers recruit Wright hasn't been spotted since September. Sampsted is the most recent victim, having rolled his ankle while away representing Iceland earlier this month. Davies hopes to be able to count on all of the above in time for Christmas in under a month.
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"Hansson will be back in training within weeks, Scott Wright the same and Sampsted the same, he'll be away for a few weeks as he picked up an injury on international duty," Davies said. "They're not with us yet. I'd hope to have them back before Christmas. They're not long-term things but they're going to take a bit more time.
"Everyone else has recovered well. We had a long journey back from Exeter, got back late so we had a rest day on Wednesday and then they have been back in to review the game, train and start preparing for our next game. They're in good spirits, encouraged by the performance and result. They're in good shape."
Jay Stansfield remains fit, despite moving a little uncomfortably as he left the pitch at Exeter City on Tuesday, something Davies has clarified has only cramp, while there is an intention for left-back Lee Buchanan - who hasn't yet been available to his boss since Davies' appointment in the summer - to get some minutes for Blues' under 21s in the near future.
"Lee has been out for a long time, he has struggled with various niggles and things," Davies reasoned. "He's still making his way back day by day and we'll see how he is. It's to build him up, he's just had so many setbacks. It's not like he's had one long-term injury, he's had one, then another and another. He's just trying to build some kind of continuity now, through training, in his body so it will last. We'll try and get him some game exposure when we can."