![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0_Twine-Williams.jpg\")
Scott Twine and Joe Williams are both dealing with injuries(Image: EFL and Getty Images)<\/p>\nBristol City and Liam Manning welcome Preston North End to Ashton Gate in what is their final game of the regular Championship seasonScott Twine and Joe Williams are both dealing with injuries(Image: EFL and Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Liam Manning has confirmed Scott Twine needs to undergo surgery in the summer on an injury Bristol City<\/a> have been managing in recent weeks but the Robins boss admits it is possible Joe Williams could start the final day clash with Preston North End at Ashton Gate.<\/p>\n The Reds welcome Paul Heckingbottom’s side to BS3 on Saturday lunchtime as they look to secure their place in the Championship play-offs. Preston currently sit 20th in the table, just a single point above Hull City<\/a> and in turn, the relegation zone. Although they could stay up with a defeat if other results elsewhere in the division are to go their way, they need a win to guarantee their safety.<\/p>\n City come into this weekend’s clash sat fifth in the table, one point clear of sixth-placed Coventry City and two ahead of both Millwall and Blackburn Rovers. While the Robins could still finish in the top six with a defeat on the final day, three points will ensure they finish fifth and take part in the play-offs<\/a> for the first time in 17 years.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Supercomputer predicts Bristol City and play-off rivals’ last-day results and final league table<\/a>READ MORE: Double-winning captain shares Bristol City play-off verdict after Talk Club Cup outing for Reds<\/a><\/p>\n Twine has tended to be a regular inclusion in the starting line-up when fit in his first full season with the Reds but the 25-year-old hasn’t started any of the last four matches having suffered a groin injury<\/a>. Although the attacking midfielder needs to go under the knife at the end of the season, Manning is insistent he is in a better place now than he was a matter of weeks ago.<\/p>\n “He needs surgery in the summer and he’s irritated another area so he was carrying pain a bit,” the City head coach told Bristol Live<\/a> in his pre-match press conference. “We’ve had to manage him through bits of that.<\/p>\n “He’s starting to feel a little bit more pain-free. Some of it won’t go away just because of what he needs done in the summer. It’s an element of pain tolerance and we’ve had to manage him but he’s looking a lot more like himself now.”<\/p>\n Twine isn’t the only member of the Robins playing squad currently playing through injury. Like the former Burnley man, Williams’ minutes have been managed since the March international break. Despite being named in the matchday squad against Luton Town and Leeds United<\/a>, the 28-year-old remained an unused substitute in both games and has not taken part in the pre-match warm-up as he contends a quad issue.<\/p>\n Bristol City are fighting to secure their place in the play-off places and you won’t miss a beat with our free newsletter.<\/p>\n All the latest news, views, interviews, gossip and analysis concerning the Robins, delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n It’s completely free and you can sign up HERE<\/a><\/p>\n Ahead of the campaign-defining clash with Heckingbottom’s side, the former Everton prospect has been involved in training at the High Performance Centre and a decision will be made on Friday as to whether or not he can start Saturday lunchtime’s clash.<\/p>\n “Possibly,” Manning said when asked if Williams was in a position to feature from the off against Preston. “He’s done a bit today so we need to see how he comes through that and we’ll have to make an assessment tomorrow to see how he is.”<\/p>\n Barring the long-term absentees such as Luke McNally<\/a>, Mark Sykes and potentially now Cam Pring, the Reds are boasting as close to a clean bill of health as you’ll find at a football club at this stage of the campaign. However, despite hopes that he would have recovered from a hamstring injury to feature in the final stages of the campaign<\/a>, Manning confirmed that Saturday’s meeting with Preston will come too soon for Harry Cornick to feature, with it not yet clear whether or not he’ll be able to play a part in the play-offs should City get there.<\/p>\n Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone<\/strong><\/p>\n Bristol City Live<\/a> is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.<\/p>\n Through the app, we\u2019ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.<\/p>\n To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select \u2018Join Community\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live<\/a> team.<\/p>\n We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.<\/p>\n To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose \u2018Exit group\u2019.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n Click here to join our WhatsApp community.<\/a><\/p>\n Given the sheer amount of football played over the course of the last nine months or so, the majority of players in City’s squad are carrying one or two bumps and bruises. While the impact of that has been exacerbated by the small cohort of players<\/a>, Manning feels his team deserve credit for how well they’ve coped in such circumstances.<\/p>\n “I keep talking about it but when you look at the size of the squad, there are a few who are carrying bits and pieces that we’re having to manage but I think that’s another marker of how well they’ve done,” the boss explained. “It was a tough January, obviously cutting numbers, which the knock-on effect is now we’re a little bit light.<\/p>\n “But I think what it’s done is, everyone knows they’re close to the team, everyone knows they’re going to get an opportunity and everyone knows they’re needed so whatever team we go with on Saturday, changes will be huge as I’ve said numerous times.<\/p>\n “It’s one of those, everyone is in the best place possible.”<\/p>\n READ MORE: Liam Manning shares fresh Cam Pring update after Bristol City defender undergoes injury scan<\/a>READ MORE: Leeds United boss Daniel Farke explains what left him ‘worried’ ahead of win over Bristol City<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bristol City and Liam Manning welcome Preston North End to Ashton Gate in what is their final game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,2686,748,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-67046","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-bristol-city-fc","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114435454622431501","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67046","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=67046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1744487785_996_2_Liam-Manning.jpg\")
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