Max Bird didn’t feature for Bristol City in their final pre-season friendly of the summer against Real ValladolidMax Bird is heading into his second season as a Bristol City player(Image: Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Gerhard Struber has provided an update on the fitness of Max Bird ahead of Bristol City’s season opener against Sheffield United, admitting that there is a chance the weekend’s clash could come too soon for the midfielder to feature.

While Bird did travel with Struber’s squad for their warm-weather training camp in Portugal last month, the Reds confirmed that he would be following an individual training programme whilst away from BS3, having sustained a calf injury.

Upon the conclusion of the Algarve camp, City confirmed that both the 24-year-old and fellow midfielder Joe Williams had progressed well, with the hope being that they would be available for the start of the season. However, neither player took part in the Robins’ final friendly of the summer, a 4-0 win over Spanish second-tier side Real Valladolid.

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Whether or not Williams will be ready to play a role when the Championship season gets underway against the Blades at Bramall Lane on Saturday remains to be seen, especially after he was involved in the Reds’ open training session at Ashton Gate last week. For Bird though, Struber seems to believe the Carabao Cup clash with MK Dons may be a more achievable return date.

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol ahead of the clash with Real Valladolid, the head coach said: “Right now, he looks not bad. I would say he can jump into training with the team in the next week.

“Maybe Sheffield [United] will come a little bit too early for him, but we will build and grow him in the next few days and the next week. Then, I think maybe he could be involved in our Carabao [Cup] game.”

Bird impressed in his first season at Ashton Gate last term as he made 49 appearances for the Reds in all competitions. Having thrived in attacking midfield in the early stages of the campaign, the 24-year-old dropped into a deeper role alongside his former Derby County teammate Jason Knight as the Robins continued to progress through the middle portion of the season.

In the final months of the campaign, however, Bird returned to a more advanced role, often starting as one of the two number 10s, typically alongside West Ham United’s George Earthy, deployed behind now Luton Town forward Nahki Wells. While most, including Liam Manning, felt he should have contributed more in the final third, the midfielder ended the term with one goal and eight assists, the most of any City player.

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With Earthy returning to the London Stadium after his loan spell, Williams and Bird sidelined and Marcus McGuane completing a permanent move to Huddersfield Town late last month, Knight and summer signing Adam Randell have been the most common pairing in the Robins’ midfield throughout pre-season.

Having impressed in his initial outings over the course of the summer after making the move to Ashton Gate from Plymouth Argyle shortly after Struber’s arrival was confirmed, Randell got off the mark in red and white with an early goal in the win over Valladolid on Saturday afternoon.

While the true test will come against Ruben Selles’ side this weekend, Struber was delighted for the 24-year-old.

“Of course, this is always something with the boys,” the City boss explained when asked how important the strike could be for Randell. “When they have in the end success, they can realise good moments and good actions.

“I am also happy for him that he scored today.”

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