Bristol City dealt blow as Nigel Pearson shares update on 31-year-old’s current situation

Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson has revealed that Nathan Baker is not expected to make his return to action during the 2022/23 campaign.

Baker initially suffered a head injury in the club’s clash with West Bromwich Albion last year.

After missing three games as a result of a concussion, the defender started against Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City and Sheffield United.

During the latter of the aforementioned fixtures, Baker was stretchered off at Bramall Lane after suffering another head injury.

Due to the severity of this issue, the 31-year-old was unable to return to action in the second half of the season.

In the absence of Baker, the Robins meandered their way to a 17th place finish in the Championship standings.

Bristol City will be hoping to move forward as a club when the new campaign gets underway in July.

Pearson has already bolstered his options this summer by securing the services of Kane Wilson, Kal Naismith and Mark Sykes on permanent deals.

Making reference to Baker, the Robins boss has admitted that the defender is unlikely to be included as part of the club’s squad next season.

Speaking to BBC Sport Bristol about the defender, Pearson said: “Well, the only thing I will say on this one is I think I should manage people’s expectations that we don’t expect to see him in the squad this season.

“But in terms of making comments about timings or statements, you know, I’m not going to make any further comments on that but it’s very, very unlikely we’ll see him.

The Verdict

This is a significant blow for the Robins as they would have been hoping to call upon the services of Baker in the upcoming campaign.

The defender has made 175 Championship appearances during this career and thus knows exactly what it takes to