Omer Riza makes Aaron Ramsey admission after 'sublime' contribution

Omer Riza was impressed by the contribution of the midfielder, who was at the heart of Cardiff's equaliser on the day

Cardiff City boss Omer Riza says he has no concerns over Aaron Ramsey's fitness, but admits the midfielder's game time will likely still need to be managed over the coming weeks.

Ramsey came off the bench as a second-half substitute in the 1-1 derby day draw with Bristol City, where he made his first league appearance since August.

He was at the heart of Cardiff's equaliser in the last minute of normal time, producing a superb pass for Cian Ashford, who in turn teed up Yousef Salech for a simple tap-in. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.

It was a promising cameo from the 34-year-old, who will no doubt be hoping to catch the eye of Craig Bellamy ahead Wales' upcoming World Cup qualifiers next month.

"It was a sublime pass," Riza said when asked about Ramsey's contribution. "We know that's the quality he's got. It wasn't the only one, he made three or four passes like that, which were key opportunities.

"That's what he's good at and when the game opened up a little bit and we introduced him into the game, it was a perfect time for him."

Despite making his return in the FA Cup clash at Stoke City, Ramsey wasn't included in the matchday squad for the midweek defeat to Portsmouth, but Riza insists he had no hesitation in throwing the midfielder into the heat of what was a tightly-contested Severnside Derby.

"Aaron was ready to play," he said. "He played in the Stoke game, which was his first game back. He didn't play at Portsmouth because he can't, and probably ain't going to go Saturday/Tuesday ever.

"So playing Saturday to Saturday is something that will probably happen with Aaron but today was just selection and was my decision."

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Riza was forced into a couple of changes from the defeat at Fratton Park, with Calum Chambers ruled out due to illness.

"The situation we had today was that Chambers was down to start and was ill," the Cardiff boss explained. "He got ill last night and then it got worse this morning, so we had to make a decision on whether it was Rambo or Andy Rinomhota.

"I just felt with Mehmeti and Twine in there, they drift into the pockets, we negated any of those problems and I think we did that really well with Andy and Sivert Mannsverk through the game.

Cardiff captain Joe Ralls was also absent from the starting line-up, but Riza is confident the midfielder will be back soon.

"After the Portsmouth game he had a groin strain," Riza said. "So we're managing him. He's been on the grass, not training. We're just seeing how bad it is and hopefully it won't be too long."