Emil Riis was left out of Bristol City’s matchday squad for the Robins’ Championship win over Birmingham City as a precautionBristol City forward Emil Riis in action in the Robins’ win over Norwich City(Image: Photo by David Watts/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Bristol City plan to have Emil Riis fit and available for selection against Stoke City, Gerhard Struber has confirmed, after the Robins took the decision not to risk the forward during their win over Birmingham City.

Riis was left out of the Reds’ matchday squad for their 1-0 win over Chris Davies’ side at Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon, with Sinclair Armstrong leading the line in the Dane’s absence. The 22-year-old ultimately scored what proved to be the winning goal late in the first half to secure City’s third successive league win.

Having been slipped behind the Birmingham backline by Rob Atkinson, Armstrong sprinted beyond his marker and touched into the penalty area, before opening his body and rolling into the bottom right corner to score his first goal in more than 10 months.

READ MORE: Sinclair Armstrong lifts lid on ‘tough’ spell after ‘beautiful’ Bristol City moment in Blues winREAD MORE: Birmingham boss Chris Davies details Bristol City play-off presumption after defeat to Robins

While the Ireland international’s display against Blues will have likely boosted his chances of keeping his place in the starting line-up when the Robins travel to the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday, he will likely face competition from Riis, with Struber hopeful the 27-year-old will be ready to feature without risk of further injury.

“Yes,” the Reds head coach simply told Bristol Live when asked if he expected Riis to be available against the Potters. “Yes, this is the clear plan.

“I would say that also when we bring him on the field today, maybe he could have played, but in the end, this would be a super high risk, but I don’t like this. In this direction, where we are at the moment in the league timeline, it was not necessary to go in, in a risky moment.

Sign up for our City newsletter

Bristol City looking to build on last season’s play-off finish under Gerhard Struber and you won’t miss a beat with our free newsletter.

All the latest news, views, interviews, gossip and analysis concerning the Robins, delivered straight to your inbox.

It’s completely free and you can sign up HERE

“I hope with all that I hear from my medical department, he is ready against Stoke. He needs a different load plan over the next week, but in the end, he is ready against Stoke.”

When asked what the issue was, Struber added, “He felt a little bit the hamstring.”

Since they returned from the international break, City – whose ranks have already been depleted by injuries to several key players – have had to contend with a rather intense fixture schedule. In the space of just eight days, the Robins played and beat Norwich City, Southampton, and Birmingham, whilst only using 13 different players as starters.

Understandably, one or two players appeared to be tiring towards the end of the weekend’s win over Blues as a result of the heavy workload. Neto Borges was withdrawn in the closing exchanges, having seemingly been struggling with cramp, while Ross McCrorie made way for Mark Sykes at half-time in a change made to manage minutes, rather than as a result of injury.

Bristol City Live on Whatsapp

Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone

Bristol City Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.

Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.

To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.

We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.

To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.

If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Click here to join our WhatsApp community.

Fortunately, the Reds now have a full week to prepare for their trip to the Potteries, with no midweek fixture to be played as the coming days are reserved for the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Although Struber and his players will be keen to build on the momentum gained from this current winning run, the City boss is of the opinion that the gap between matches has come at a good time for his stretched squad.

“Yeah, I think this is also something where we can come a little bit down and prepare our typical game against our next big opponent,” the Austrian explained. “Of course, we have, against them, fresh legs, fresh brains, and this helps.”

OPINION

OPINION