Birmingham City manager Chris Davies has confirmed a fresh injury concern for midfielder Willum Willumsson, delivering an untimely blow to the Championship side.
Willumsson's Recovery Roadblock
The Icelandic international, who has been sidelined since the end of August, was approaching a first-team return before experiencing what Davies describes as a 'slight setback' in his end-stage recovery.
"Willum is getting close," Davies stated. "He's had a slight setback in his end-stage recovery from his initial injury. It's only minor and we're hoping it's only a matter of weeks, not months or anything like that."
This development means the 25-year-old will extend his absence beyond the three months he has already missed, though the manager remains optimistic about a relatively swift resolution.
Growing Treatment Room Concerns
Willumsson now joins Scott Wright, Lee Buchanan and Ethan Laird on Birmingham's injured list, presenting selection headaches for Davies during the demanding December schedule.
The Blues will also be without Japanese midfielder Tomoki Iwata for Monday night's crucial encounter against Watford after he collected his fifth yellow card of the season during Wednesday's match.
Tight Championship Battle Intensifies
Monday's opponents Watford sit just one point behind Birmingham in what Davies describes as an "incredible" Championship table compression.
"The six points between fourth and 17th is incredible," Davies commented. "I don't think you'd find another league in the world that has that. It says everything about the league."
The Birmingham manager emphasised that league positions can be deceptive, noting: "West Brom, like you say they're 17th, but if you look at some of the players they've got they could easily be fourth."
With the busy December period typically separating teams, Davies recognises the importance of maintaining recent improvements: "The next few weeks are going to be important. Each game holds real value for us. We've settled now on a bit of consistency which we probably lacked at the start of the season."
"Players are finding more rhythm and there's a settled nature about the side," he added. "The return in that period has been excellent. My plan is to continue that over the next weeks leading up to Christmas in the same vein."
