Birmingham City
Despite expectations of a comeback, the “physical” Birmingham star might miss Huddersfield.
A severe setback for Birmingham…
Birmingham City’s chances of making it through the Championship this season are still very slim with just two games left, and Gary Rowett’s frustration caused by an injury concern before of his team’s pivotal match against Huddersfield Town does not help either.
News of injuries in Birmingham
Since replacing Tony Mowbray in March after the former Sunderland manager had to step down for medical reasons, Rowett has been handed the task of steering Birmingham to safety. So far, it’s been a difficult task too. The interim boss has taken charge of six games, winning just twice, suffering defeat three times and drawing once. As a result, safety is now far from guaranteed with Birmingham in a perilous position.
| Championship relegation battle | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 19th | Blackburn Rovers | 49 |
| 20th | Plymouth Argyle | 48 |
| 21st (safety) | Sheffield Wednesday | 47 |
| 22nd | Birmingham City | 46 |
| 23rd | Huddersfield Town | 44 |
| 24th | Rotherham (relegated) | 24 |
The Terriers’ struggle has grown even more formidable in the wake of Rowett’s injury report. Lukas Jutkiewicz is still a doubt heading into the weekend, despite the manager’s prior assurance that he might feature in Birmingham’s final two Championship games.
Rowett revealed the news, saying via Birmingham Mail: “I know Jukey really well, he is definitely one that can help us around the group as well. The first thing he said to me is, ‘If I’m not available, I want to travel with the team’. That shows a lot about him. Jukey is always that go-to one to get you out of trouble.
“We’re hoping that he can recover. You’ll see him limping around but he’ll still want to play. I’m hoping he can still play some part of the season but I don’t want to put too much pressure on that with the injury that he had.”
“Physical” Jutkiewicz is a big miss
Expierience can quickly prove to be the key in any relegation battle and Jutkiewicz certainly brings that at 35-years-old. If Rowett wanted a chance to fall to any Birmingham player, Jutkiewicz would be high up on his list. Nonetheless, Birmingham must escape the drop without the help of their veteran forward, unless he manages a late return against the odds.
In2016, Birmingham Mail quoted Rowett, who had previously worked with Jutkiewicz at Birmingham, as saying of the forward: “The second goal is a good ball into the box; when Jukey is getting the ball crossed into him and he’s in the middle of the goal, not many teams are going to be able to stop him.”
“With four goals in perhaps eight or nine matches, that’s a really good start to his Blues career. He might be a real pain in the ass sometimes.
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