Birmingham City manager Chris Davies has confirmed that star striker Jay Stansfield was sidelined for the weekend's FA Cup victory due to a persistent injury concern.
Stansfield Misses Cambridge Win
Stansfield was a notable absentee from the squad that secured a 3-2 win away at Cambridge United in the FA Cup third round on Saturday evening. The 23-year-old was the only player missing from what Davies considered a full-strength starting line-up at The Abbey Stadium.
His replacement, Kyogo Furuhashi, capitalised on the opportunity by finding the net, ending his personal goal drought and helping to fire Blues into the fourth round of the competition. The bench, however, was weakened by other injuries and the continued absence of Marc Leonard and Lyndon Dykes, making Stansfield's unavailability a further complication.
Davies Hopeful on Knock
Speaking after the match, Davies provided clarity on the situation, revealing that Stansfield has been managing a knock picked up several weeks ago. The club's top scorer across all competitions with nine goals managed to play through the issue during the recent Coventry City match but has now been forced to rest.
"Jay picked up a knock a few weeks ago and he's been carrying on with it," Davies explained. "He did really well to get through the Coventry match as he did. It's a knock and we’re hopeful that he has a good week and he's OK. It won't be a long-term thing but it’s a knock that he’s had to sit out with."
Assessment Before Swansea Trip
The immediate focus for Birmingham is their upcoming Championship fixture, an away trip to face Swansea City. The team will be looking to improve a poor record on the road in the league.
A key part of that preparation will be the assessment of Stansfield's fitness in the coming days. Davies and the medical staff will monitor the striker closely throughout the week ahead of the Swansea clash, with the manager expressing optimism that the issue is not serious.
