Birmingham City reveal 2022/2023 home kit as Lee Bowyer set for pre-season return

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Lee Bowyer was not present as Birmingham City started their pre-season preparations at Wast Hills this week. Blues’ players returned from their summer break on Monday, for testing at Coventry University.

They were back at their Wast Hills training base on Tuesday and trained on Wednesday but with speculation around his future – which seems to be tied up with the club’s ongoing takeover situation – it has emerged Bowyer has not returned to the squad. Yet.

Indeed these early days have seen head of physical performance Sean Rush, take a lead role, with first team development coach Paul Harsley and goalkeeper coach Andy Marshall leading sessions ‘on the grass’. However, Bowyer has not been the only absentee, with the club’s international players also on a belated break, key figures like Neil Etheridge, Scott Hogan and Juninho Bacuna. Ivan Sanchez is also yet to return to the squad with his season at Real Valladolid having not finished until their promotion was confirmed on May 29.

BirminghamLive understands the whole group, including Bowyer, is due back at Wast Hills over the weekend, with Blues’ pre-season preparations stepping up from there. There is, though, no clarity on whether a replacement for Mark Kennedy, Bowyer’s No. 2 who left for Lincoln last month, is in the pipeline.

Ryan Stirk hopes to challenge for Birmingham City’s first team after last season’s productive loan spell at Mansfield Town. The 21-year-old has returned to his parent club after his summer break and has been involved in two days of testing before pre-season real gets under way.

He does so with the experience of a whole League Two campaign under his belt, a season in which he made 35 appearances for