Tommy Conway suffered the injury in Bristol City’s season opener against Preston North End on Saturday
Bristol City are set to be without Tommy Conway for up to three months, Bristol Live understands, as the striker has sustained a second major hamstring injury of the year.
Conway was a second-half substitute during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Preston North End, emerging for the final 21 minutes, and suffered the injury during a sprint for an intended ball over the top and played out the remainder of the game.
Scans have revealed significant damage and the 21-year-old, who would most likely have started tonight’s Carabao Cup tie against Oxford United at Ashton Gate, now faces an extended spell on the sidelines.
Conway also injured a hamstring in January, which saw him miss 12 weeks of action last season, constituting 15 matches. It’s unclear whether it’s the same problem on the same leg, or a different issue.
In a post on Twitter, after rumours broke on fan sites and social media, Conway wrote: “Beyond gutted. As you may have seen, I’ll be cheering the boys on from the sidelines for a bit and doing everything I can to be back on the pitch soon.”
City are yet to confirm any details around the injury but Nigel Pearson is due to speak to BBC Radio Bristol before tonight’s tie in which he’s expected to offer further clarification.
It’s a seismic blow to the Robins manager and the club given the level of expectation and excitement around what Conway was capable of this season, having scored 12 times in all competitions in his breakthrough campaign last term.
With his explosive pace and brutally-efficient finishing, there was hope the Scotland Under-21 international could break the 20-goal barrier and spearhead City’s drive to the higher end of the Championship table.
That could still transpire for the Taunton-born frontman, but has been put on extended hold and based on a 12-week timescale, Conway could be back in action for the Severnside Derby at Cardiff City on October 28.
Nahki Wells, who started against Preston, is now the lone senior and specialised central striker in the squad but Harry Cornick and even Sam Bell could come into the equation in that role over the next 12 weeks. Conway’s absence does also raise the potential for Pearson looking for extra reinforcements, either on a permanent basis or in the loan market.
Conway joins flatmate and close friend Alex Scott on the City injury list with the playmaker having suffered a swollen knee in training last week. The 19-year-old is not expected to feature against Oxford but there is optimism he could come into contention for the trip to Millwall on Saturday.
Along with their prized duo, City are also without Ross McCrorie (bacterial infection) and Rob Atkinson (ACL), but there was some positive news on the injury front with midfielder Ayman Benarous playing for the Under-21s on Tuesday as they lost 4-1 at QPR.
The 19-year-old, who hasn’t been able to represent the senior side since April 2022 after suffering back-to-back ACLs, also played 45 minutes for the Young Robins last week in a behind-closed-doors friendly against South African side Supersport United.
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