Birmingham City right-back Ethan Laird has suffered an injury setback at the start of pre-season training, ruling him out of the club's first friendly match against Huddersfield Town. The defender, who joined Blues in 2023 and is the longest-serving player at the club, has been unable to train with his teammates during the first two weeks of pre-season.
Laird's Injury History and Current Setback
Laird missed a significant portion of last season with a hamstring injury, limiting him to just 20 league appearances. Now, a new niggle has hampered his bid to regain his right-back spot. Manager Chris Davies confirmed the issue, stating: “Ethan has had a bit of a niggle and hasn’t quite been able to get training yet. He had a good summer and prepared himself. Towards the end he’s just had a slight issue. We’ve got it checked out and hopefully from this point on it’s just a matter of days before he re-joins training again. It’s frustrating for him because he worked hard in the summer to get himself ready to come back but unfortunately he’s had a bit of a setback. Hopefully it’s not long.”
Impact on Pre-Season Plans
Blues are currently in Portugal for a training camp and will face League One side Huddersfield Town on Friday in their first pre-season match. Laird is expected to miss that fixture. Last season, midfielder Tomoki Iwata was Davies' preferred right-back before Bright Osayi-Samuel took over the role during the run-in. Nigeria international Osayi-Samuel now appears to have an advantage over Laird due to this latest injury.
Competition for Right-Back Spot
The injury opens the door for Osayi-Samuel to solidify his position as first-choice right-back for the upcoming 2026/27 season. Fans are being asked to weigh in on who should start at right-back for Blues this season.
