Cardiff City forward Isaak Davies will be sidelined for four weeks with a hamstring injury, manager Brian Barry-Murphy has confirmed, as the club's injury crisis deepens ahead of Wednesday's Championship match against West Ham United.
Davies was a surprise absentee from the squad that lost 3-0 at Wolves on Saturday, with his absence initially unexplained. Barry-Murphy has now revealed the 25-year-old suffered the injury last Monday and faces around a month on the sidelines.
Another setback for Davies
It is another frustrating blow for Davies, whose career has been affected by injury issues, and another headache for Barry-Murphy, who is already dealing with a severely depleted squad.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday morning, Barry-Murphy said: "Isaak Davies has a hamstring injury. He won't be fit." Asked how long he expected the forward to be unavailable, the Cardiff boss replied: "Four weeks."
Growing injury list
Davies joins a growing injury list at Cardiff City Stadium, with Barry-Murphy also concerned about three players who picked up problems during the weekend's defeat at Molineux. Defender Perry Ng, centre-back Will Fish and midfielder Alex Robertson are all doubts for the visit of West Ham, having been unable to train on Monday.
"Perry didn't train yesterday. He seems OK. We're hopeful on him," Barry-Murphy explained. "Alex Robertson and Will Fish, again, both didn't train yesterday, so we'll check on them today."
The potential absence of Fish and Ng is particularly concerning given Cardiff's ongoing defensive problems. Dylan Lawlor remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, while experienced defender Calum Chambers is also unavailable because of a knee problem. Both are expected to remain out until after the November international break.
Defensive concerns
Gabriel Osho, meanwhile, still has one match remaining on his suspension following his red card against Middlesbrough, leaving Barry-Murphy short of established defensive options. The extent of those problems was evident against Wolves, when Cardiff finished the match with midfielder Joel Colwill and winger Ollie Tanner operating as emergency full-backs, while Ng was forced to move into central defence.
However, there was at least one potentially significant piece of positive news from Tuesday's press conference. Krystian Bielik could return against West Ham, with the Poland international nearing fitness after his own spell on the sidelines. "We'll check on Krystian today in training. He's close. We think he has a chance," Barry-Murphy said.
There was also encouragement surrounding Rubin Colwill, who returned from injury as a substitute at Molineux and came through his appearance without any apparent problems. "Rubin obviously was a big positive for us on Saturday, to come back and feel so good after his appearance from the bench," Barry-Murphy added.
Robinson absence unrelated to injury
Meanwhile, Callum Robinson's continued absence from the Cardiff squad is unrelated to injury. The forward has missed the last three matches after Barry-Murphy previously revealed he had not adhered to club standards. Asked on Tuesday whether Robinson was serving a club-imposed suspension, the manager said that wasn't the case. Pressed on whether he needed to see anything from the player before recalling him, Barry-Murphy simply responded: "No. I always try and be as transparent as possible with every question that I'm asked on behalf of the supporters, but it's already been discussed."
The Bluebirds will be hoping their impressive home form can help them overcome those difficulties as they look to bounce back from Saturday's disappointment at Molineux.
