'Significant injury' update on star ahead of Leeds United visit to Birmingham City in Blues team news
Leeds United face a trip to Birmingham City on Sunday in the FA Cup fourth round.
Boss Chris Davies has provided his Birmingham City team news for Sunday’s FA Cup fourth round visit of Leeds United and a star’s “significant injury” update.
Birmingham’s South Korean international midfielder Paik Seung-Ho fell awkwardly on a shoulder that he had recently dislocated in Tuesday’s goalless draw at home to West Brom and was forced off in the 15th minute.
Five days later, Birmingham will host Leeds in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday but Seung-Ho is heading to see a specialist next week upon confirmation from boss Davies that the 28-year-old has suffered a significant injury.
Davies has said it is hard to pin down an exact timescale but has praised the midfielder’s powers of recovery and says all options are on the table.
The Blues has also confirmed that right-back Ethan Laird and fellow defender Jack Robinson remain out, despite both nearing returns.
Adding to the Blues absentees, left back Alex Cochrane has not featured since New Year's Day due to an ankle injury whilst fellow left back Lee Buchanan has been sidelined for more than a year due to a knee injury.
“It's obviously a significant injury”
Speaking at Friday’s pre-match press conference, Davies was asked about Seung-Ho and said: “He's okay, obviously it's the shoulder again so he's getting more definitive information from a specialist next week.
"Day by day it feels a little bit better but it's obviously a significant injury so he's going to go and see the specialist and we will see where we go from there.”
Pressed for a possible timescale, Davies reasoned: “It is hard without that appointment, I think for Paik he will do everything he can.
"Most players, when Paik did his shoulder at Middlesbrough, most players would have been out for two months.
"Paik was back in two weeks so it says everything about him.
“I think all options are on the table”
"But obviously the more you do your shoulder you have to weigh everything up but I think all options are on the table so we'll have to see what the specialist says."
Pushed for an update on Robinson and Laird, Davies said: "Ethan is training, I say training, it's the first steps into training.
"He's done one sort of proper group session and that was today.
"It's great to see him back, he's got a fantastic energy about him and demeanour about him when he's with the team and he has obviously been a very important player for me at my time here.
"It was such an unfortunate injury but to have him back now training just boosts us.
"The plan for him is to have a good week or two of training to really get himself up to speed and then we have got a very good player there.
"With Jack he's a little bit similar, he's not quite the same as Ethan, he's a little bit behind that.
"But then again he was out for less time than Ethan so we'll see him hopefully with the group properly in the next few days."