Jay Stansfield is optimistic that the injury he sustained in Birmingham City's last match of the season will not derail his summer plans. The 23-year-old forward had to be substituted after 18 minutes of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Portsmouth due to a seemingly innocuous challenge on Millenic Alli that caused a lower right leg injury.
Stansfield tried to run off the discomfort but was unable to continue, and he attended the club's awards dinner on crutches on Sunday evening. Speaking about the incident, Stansfield said: "It was early on and I tried to carry on. I tried and tried but it was getting worse and worse, so we took the decision to come off."
Fortunately for Stansfield, he has nearly two months before he is required to report for pre-season training at the Elite Performance and Innovation Centre. Blues' players are now heading off on holiday, and Stansfield is hoping to enjoy a proper break after playing through last summer to help England win the European Under-21 Championships.
As a result of his busy schedule, Stansfield has played 99 matches over the last two seasons. Only Christoph Klarer, Tomoki Iwata, and Paik Seung-ho have played more minutes for Blues in the Championship this season. "I was hoping for a rest but I've picked this injury up in the last game of the season," Stansfield added. "Hopefully the physios are nice enough to let me go away with my family for a few days."
Pre-season Plans
Birmingham City are scheduled to report for pre-season training in late June, ahead of the new season officially starting on the weekend of August 8 and 9 with a Carabao Cup first round fixture. The new Championship season will begin on the weekend of August 15 and 16.
