Birmingham City midfielder Taylor Gardner-Hickman suffered a knock just 11 minutes into the team's 1-0 pre-season victory over Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium on Tuesday night. Manager Chris Davies confirmed the injury after the match, describing it as the only negative from an otherwise productive evening.
Match Overview and Injury Details
Gardner-Hickman, who spent last season on loan at Blackburn Rovers, started the game but was forced off early with what Davies called a 'little niggle'. The 22-year-old's early departure was a setback for Blues, who otherwise enjoyed a successful workout. The winning goal came from August Priske, his third in three pre-season games and his first from open play.
Speaking to Blues TV, Davies said: “I thought it was a good night's work for us. We've played 60 minutes for a lot of lads there on the weekend against Porto, and today the idea was to bring it back down to 45 and almost have a good couple of training days and then use this as a 45 minute block, hoping then on the weekend we can get some many close towards that 90 minute mark.
“Primarily it's always fitness first and we got through it well, obviously we lost Taylor to a little niggle, but I'm hoping that's not too bad, but that was the only sort of negative thing of the night.”
Fitness Focus and Pre-Season Progress
Davies emphasized that fitness remains the primary objective during pre-season. He expressed satisfaction with the team's physical output in training and matches, noting that they have avoided major injuries so far. “I've been happy with what we've put in physically to the training, what we've got out of the games, like I say, we haven't lost too many to knocks and niggles, we've got a big weekend to try and really make that next step for more minutes but it's all building well in that regard,” he added.
The Blues face a double header on Saturday, with one squad traveling to Northampton and another to Crewe. They will then conclude their pre-season schedule a week on Thursday against Barcelona.
Jay Stansfield Returns to Action
Forward Jay Stansfield made his first appearance of pre-season at Burton, playing 45 minutes. Stansfield had been sidelined after picking up an injury at Portsmouth, which disrupted his summer training. Davies welcomed his return but acknowledged that the 21-year-old still needs time to reach full match sharpness ahead of the season opener at Swansea City on August 8.
“He's had a bit of an unfortunate injury at Portsmouth and then it sort of knocked his summer a little bit so he started a bit behind the rest,” the manager explained. “He's still got a bit of a way to go – you can see that – but he got a few minutes on the weekend there and now he's got 45 minutes, so it's definitely a good step for him because he's missed a couple of weeks compared to the other lads.”
Looking Ahead
With the competitive season fast approaching, Birmingham City will hope that Gardner-Hickman's injury proves minor. The midfielder is expected to be assessed in the coming days. Meanwhile, the double-header on Saturday will provide further opportunities for players to build match fitness and stake their claims for a starting spot against Swansea.
