Mark Sykes suffers injury setback as Bristol City fitness update shared after loss vs Burnley

Bristol City will be without Mark Sykes for a few weeks after Liam Manning confirmed the attacker had suffered a setback in his recovery from injury.

The Ireland international was not included in the Robins' matchday squad for their 1-0 defeat to Burnley at Ashton Gate on Saturday, having also missed the 2-0 win over Norwich City prior to the November international break.

Although City impressed against Scott Parker's Clarets, they were unable to make several good opportunities count with the best chance of the game falling to Yu Hirakawa midway through the second half. The Japanese winger latched on to an excellent pass from Max Bird, but could only hit James Trafford in the Burnley net after a poor touch left him with very little of the goal to aim at.

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The Reds have a chance to get back to winning ways on Tuesday when they face Watford at Vicarage Road, but they will have to face the Hornets without Sykes who is yet to get back to full fitness. The 27-year-old last played for the Robins in their late 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United at Ashton Gate prior to the international break, but only lasted six minutes before being replaced by Anis Mehmeti.

Although Manning insists the versatile attacker's setback is "small" he could miss the Reds' next couple of games unless he exceeds returns sooner than expected.

"He had a small setback in his rehab stuff," Manning explained after the defeat to Ashton Gate. "A small setback which is the case with some of them, it doesn't always go smoothly and exactly on the time frames that are set.

"But he'll probably be another week or two, a couple of weeks I'd think."

Although Sykes won't make the trip to face Tom Cleverly's side, the Robins' attacking options are growing by the week as more and more players return to full fitness.

Scott Twine returned to the matchday squad to face his old side at Ashton Gate on Saturday and impressed in a second-half cameo, Hirakawa will be chomping at the bit to be involved from the off once again and City still have Elijah Morrison waiting in the wings if and when he is needed and ready.

George Earthy will also be fit to start if he keeps his place in the starting line up with Manning confirming in his post-match press conference that the young West Ham United loanee had been substituted for tactical reasons rather than an injury.

Although the likes of Sykes, Ross McCrorie, George Tanner, and Joe Williams remain sidelined, the City boss is happy with the depth of his current playing squad, insisting they will be required as the fixtures come thick and fast over the coming weeks, starting with Tuesday night's trip to Watford.

"I have to say, I thought we physically looked good at the end and I thought we finished strong," Manning explained. "Pringy came on and was excellent. He was really unfortunate not to start given how well he did at Norwich but for me, it's then about putting the team first and when you're called upon doing what he did today because I thought he had real purpose with everything he did.

"Having the option to bring on someone like that back in, Twiney and Yu speaks volumes about where we're at and it's only going to stand us in good stead when you look at how many games we've got in the next six weeks."

Including the clash with the Hornets at Vicarage Road, the Robins will play another eight games before the turn of the new year, including tough away trips against the likes of Sunderland and West Brom and home clashes with sides like Queens Park Rangers and Luton Town. Although every game is important in the Championship, the next few weeks could be decisive in the race for the playoff positions at the top of the Championship table.

Although City missed the chance to close the gap to the top six against the Clarets on Saturday, results elsewhere have left them within touching distance of the playoff places and a win against Watford would make things interesting over the festive period.

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