Josh Stokes injury update emerges at Cambridge United after recent Bristol City U21 appearance

Bristol City loanee Josh Stokes will miss Cambridge United's game against Reading on Tuesday evening having suffered with some soreness following his appearance for the Robins under-21s, Garry Monk has confirmed.

The attacking midfielder arrived at Ashton Gate this summer after the Reds agreed a deal with Aldershot Town to secure his services in the January transfer window which allowed him to remain with the non-league side for the second half of the campaign.

Although the 20-year-old impressed in pre-season, was named in the Robins' matchday squad for their season opener against Hull City and came off of the bench in their Carabao Cup clash with Coventry City, the decision was taken to allow him to leave on loan late in the window so that he could play regular first-team football, with chances set to be limited at Ashton Gate following the arrivals of Scott Twine and George Earthy.

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Cambridge United ultimately won the race for his signature and Stokes started excellently under Monk, exciting supporters in games against Bristol Rovers, Blackpool and Mansfield. However, the Reds loanee hasn't played for the U's since September having picked up a knee injury against the Stags.

As part of his recovery, Stokes played for City's under-21 side in their 2-2 draw with Norwich City at the Robins High Performance Centre last Monday, coming off of the bench to score and impress Robins' head coach Liam Manning who revealed the 20-year-old had returned to Cambridge.

"He's back with them now," Manning confirmed in a press conference ahead of City's clash with Plymouth Argyle this weekend. "It was a discussion that Brian [Tinnion] had with Ben Strang the technical director there and it was a case of he'd been training with them fully, can we get him some match minutes? There are different programmes at different clubs with the categories of what U21 football looks like so I think in terms of it, it was a good opportunity to get him some match minutes.

"I have to say, I thought he was excellent in the second half, he did some high-level moments in the game and he's now back with them."

Stokes was not included in Monk's matchday squad for Cambridge's 2-1 home defeat to Wigan Athletic on Saturday and the young attacking midfielder may have to wait a bit longer before returning to the fold.

The 45-year-old admitted the Reds loanee would not yet be ready to feature against Reading at the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Tuesday, although he did insist the latest issue was nothing serious.

"Stokesy is not available," Monk confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Monday. "He's just suffering a bit of soreness from a slight reaction to the game on Monday.

"It's nothing serious or anything but he just needs a bit longer obviously to build up and get used to the load again so unfortunately for us, Stokesy won't be available for Tuesday."

Cambridge have had a difficult start to the season in League One and currently sit 22nd in the table having only managed to win three of their opening 16 league games this term.

After Tuesday night's clash with Reading, Monk's side welcome Gareth Ainsworth's Shrewsbury Town to the Cledara Abbey Stadium with some big games against the likes of Wrexham, Huddersfield Town, Charlton Athletic and Cheltenham Town on the agenda over the festive period.

Although it remains unclear when Stokes will be fit and ready to feature for the U's during one of the busiest periods of the campaign, there appears to be optimism on both sides that the 20-year-old will be involved sooner rather than later.

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