Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy has revealed that defender Dylan Lawlor will miss Wales' upcoming Nations League matches in Portugal and Denmark next month.
Lawlor has been absent since the last international window, having picked up an injury that ruled him out of the entire pre-season campaign for his club.
Injury setback for club and country
Craig Bellamy's side travel to Lisbon on Thursday, September 24, before playing in Copenhagen three days later. However, Lawlor will not be involved, Barry-Murphy confirmed, in a blow for both club and country.
"Dylan injured his knee in the game against Ghana so he's not close to returning yet," said Barry-Murphy, following Cardiff's 2-2 draw with Sheffield United.
At present, there appears to be no timescale set on the 20-year-old's return either. "He's starting to make good progress now and he's back doing some jogging, but he's nowhere close to returning for us yet so it's impossible to say when [he'll be back]," added Barry-Murphy.
Bluebirds short at the back
Lawlor's absence has left the Bluebirds short at the back heading into the Championship campaign. They have started with three draws so far, with the head coach bringing in Krystian Bielik to solve the problem in the heart of defence, with Gabriel Osho and Calum Chambers having also missed games.
Bielik, who can play in midfield as well as centre-back, says he feels more comfortable in the latter. "I haven't played as a central midfielder for a while now," he said after the draw with the Blades. "The last three years, I played mainly centre-back. Just when there were injuries at West Brom or Birmingham and I had to play as a six, I've done OK. But mainly centre-back, I'd say."
"If I'm really needed and the manager sees the opportunity for me to go and be in front of the centre-backs, the CDM, I don't mind it. I will do my best. Whatever position, put me on the right wing, I will do my best to play well and do well for the team. Centre-back, centre-mid - my preference at the moment, I prefer centre-back for sure."
