{"id":562061,"date":"2025-11-10T19:58:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T19:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/562061\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T19:58:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T19:58:18","slug":"neto-borges-return-timeline-as-gerhard-struber-explains-bristol-city-defenders-watford-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/562061\/","title":{"rendered":"Neto Borges return timeline as Gerhard Struber explains Bristol City defender’s Watford absence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neto Borges was not included in Bristol City’s matchday squad for the Robins’ 1-1 draw with Watford at Vicarage Road<\/p>\n

17:40, 10 Nov 2025Updated 17:42, 10 Nov 2025<\/p>\n

Neto Borges joined Bristol City on loan on the penultimate day of the transfer window(Image: EFL)<\/p>\n

Bristol City hope Neto Borges will be “ready” to feature against Swansea City after the November international break, Gerhard Struber has confirmed, with the Robins boss explaining the reason behind the defender’s absence against Watford.<\/p>\n

Borges wasn’t named in the starting line-up or on the substitutes’ bench for the Reds’ 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road<\/a> on Friday evening, as a first-half Scott Twine free-kick proved to be enough to send City into the break with a first point in three games after back-to-back defeats at the hands of Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers.<\/p>\n

Just 24 minutes into the Robins’ midweek defeat to Rovers, Borges was forced off the field with what Struber confirmed post-match to be tightness in his calf<\/a>. The decision to withdraw the Brazilian was made as a precaution and the Reds were understood to be hopeful he would be in contention<\/a> to feature against the Hornets.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Gerhard Struber maps out international break plan as boss outlines ‘big hope’ for Bristol City<\/a>READ MORE: Charlotte Healy delighted as Bristol City Women ‘set a standard’ with impressive Ipswich win<\/a><\/p>\n

However, Friday’s trip to Hertfordshire ultimately came too soon for the Middlesbrough loanee to be involved, with Ephraim Yeboah and Joe Lumley taking Borges’ and Mark Sykes’ place on the bench. Now though, with no Championship football for two weeks over the international break, the wing-back should have ample time to recover.<\/p>\n

“Neto, I would say this game was a little bit too early for him,” the head coach told BBC Radio Bristol<\/a> after the full-time whistle at Vicarage Road. “But I think against Swansea, he’s ready.<\/p>\n

“I think with Mark Sykes, I have a really, really clear idea,” Struber added. “I would say the next two games, I think so, and then we will look what is [happening] with Knighty.<\/p>\n

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“Knighty is very close, also Pringy, I think, knocks on the door. These are the next players that [will] come back.”<\/p>\n

While the current injury situation at Ashton Gate, which saw 10 players sidelined for the draw with Watford, has proven incredibly challenging for the remaining players and Struber to navigate, it has presented a window of opportunity for those on the fringes of the first-team squad.<\/p>\n

The likes of Haydon Roberts and Fally Mayulu have been handed starts<\/a> they perhaps wouldn’t have been afforded if more players were fit and available, whilst several academy players have featured from the bench over the last month or so.<\/p>\n

All of Leo Pecover, Olly Thomas, Jed Meerholz, Elijah Morrison<\/a>, and Yeboah were named amongst the substitutes on Friday evening, with both Pecover and Thomas involved in the closing exchanges as City searched for a late winner.<\/p>\n

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Since he was appointed as Robins boss in the summer, Struber has emphasised his desire to utilise the Reds’ academy pathway and promote from within where possible. While injuries have forced his hand slightly, he’s been impressed by what he’s seen from the youngsters so far.<\/p>\n

“I think we have to use, in the end, our academy players more and more,” said the City head coach. “I think this is a little bit [because] of our situation, but at the same time, this is not a gift that we give them something.<\/p>\n

“They show me in the training good performances, they show me in the training the effort, and Leo shows us also today. He was very disciplined, how he came in and also Olly Thomas<\/a>, we could see the one or other time [that] he could be interesting. He needs, of course, more game time – he was a long time out with injuries – but he’s a very interesting profile.<\/p>\n

“We are happy that we have, in the end, a good mix of players today to bring the point home.”<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

OPINION<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

OPINION<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Neto Borges was not included in Bristol City’s matchday squad for the Robins’ 1-1 draw with Watford at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":562062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[192,381,2686,748,393,14590,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-562061","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bbc","9":"tag-bristol","10":"tag-bristol-city-fc","11":"tag-britain","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-football-league-championship","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115527177970716788","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}