Player unlikely to wear Birmingham City shirt again after new development | OneFootball

Birmingham City loanee Oliver Burke has been ruled out for a few weeks with a muscular injury and might not make another appearance for Blues this season.

The former West Bromwich Albion and Millwall wideman linked up in the West Midlands from German outfit Werder Bremen during the summer transfer window but has failed to hit consistent heights since his return to the second tier.

Blues are currently fighting to maintain their Championship status and are hovering above the bottom three. With Gary Rowett now in interim charge, the Birmingham faithful will be hopeful the returning boss can generate a positive bounce when they travel to QPR on Saturday afternoon.

For Burke and the rest of the playing squad, it has been a turbulent season to contend with, as the club have now had five managers occupy the touchline at some point during the campaign, with John Eustace, Wayne Rooney, Tony Mowbray, Mark Venus and now Rowett trying to get their ideas across to the group.

Burke was a regular in the Blues set-up, particularly under Eustace, contributing to the club's climb into the top six before Eustace’s departure in October of last year.

The 26-year-old continued to feature heavily under Rooney but lost his place in the side upon the arrival of Mowbray and has not made an appearance in a Blues shirt since their FA Cup defeat to Leicester City at the beginning of this year.

Werder Bremen’s head of professional football Clemens Fritz revealed to German outlet Deich Stube that Burke had picked up a muscle injury at St Andrew’s, leaving him on the sidelines for a few weeks.

Fritz said: “He currently has a muscular injury and has therefore not been able to play for a few weeks. He’ll probably need some time before he’s fit again.”

This means Burke will not have a chance to rectify his disastrous record in front of goal at Birmingham in the short-term, with the Scottish international failing to record a single attacking contribution in 20 Championship contests during his loan stint so far.

Burke may have had the opportunity to gain some gametime under a new regime, but a fresh injury and a poor record in front of goal is sure to see the winger pushed down the pecking order further, making it difficult to earn significant minutes during the final run-in.

Since departing Nottingham Forest back in 2016, Burke has returned to England with multiple clubs, but not with much success.

An impressive stint with RB Leipzig would see Burke move to then Premier League side West Brom for a reported £15 million fee back in 2017, but he would go on to make just 24 appearances at the Hawthorns, with loan spells away at Celtic and Alaves occurring during his time in the Black Country.

Burke would seal a permanent move away four years later to Sheffield United, playing the majority of games in their 2020/21 Premier League campaign as the Blades suffered relegation.

, Burke would have two separate moves to Millwall, netting only four times over two terms.

Birmingham City loan flop could lead to Werder Bremen contract termination

After another failed loan spell away for the Kirkcaldy-born forward, Fritz admitted a decision on his future with Werder Bremen will have to be made during the summer.

Fritz said: “We are in contact with him and his advisor and will decide together how to proceed in the summer.”

This has to be a concerning statement for Burke to read, given his contract with Die Werderaner does not expire until 2025.

If Werder Bremen wish to save some funds on wages by releasing Burke a year early, then the Scotsman's future will be up in the air during the summer as a free agent.