”Close” - Birmingham City boss Chris Davies drops Jay Stansfield return update | OneFootball

Birmingham City have been missing their talisman in recent games

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies has provided the latest in regards to star striker Jay Stansfield's injury-enforced absence as he closes in on a return to action.

League One’s record signing has missed Blues’ last two fixtures, and whilst he is closing in on a return, he will also miss this Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash with Wycombe Wanderers.

But there is some good news on the injury front, with Birmingham recovering one player from a mid-term issue.

Jay Stansfield out for Wycombe Wanderers clash but Marc Leonard returns for Birmingham City

Signed for a third-tier record of over £15 million, Stansfield has been a star turn for Birmingham in League One this season.

The former Fulham man had grabbed 16 goals in 23 League One appearances prior to sustaining a knee injury against Bradford City in the semi-final of the EFL Trophy.

Stansfield was stretchered off, causing concerns that he had sustained a long-term issue, but subsequent tests indicated that the damage was nowhere near severe as first thought.

That being said, no timeframe had been set for a potential return for Stansfield.

Fellow attacker Keshi Anderson is in a similar boat to Stansfield, with Davies describing the pair as close, but not close enough.

Whilst Birmingham will definitely be without Stansfield and Anderson, they will be boosted by the return of Marc Leonard.

Leonard was stretched off during Birmingham's FA Cup defeat to Newcastle United, suffering a nasty gash on his leg.

However, Davies warned that whilst Leonard was closer to a return to the matchday squad than Stansfield or Anderson, the midfielder would be lacking in sharpness due to little training in recent weeks.

Davies told Birmingham Live: “Marc has been out for a few weeks so it’s just about making sure it’s robust enough to deal with contact and slipping over and everything like that. He’s very, very close.

“Marc is a lot closer than Jay and Keshi but hasn’t trained too much really. Jay and Keshi are close but not close enough really. The squad isn’t going to change too much from where we are."

Birmingham City enduring mini-injury crisis

The absence of Stansfield has been compounded by the loss of two other attackers in recent weeks.

In last weekend’s 0-0 draw away at Reading, Birmingham lost Scottish duo Scott Wright and Lyndon Dykes.

Winger Wright was forced off with a knee injury after his studs were caught in the turf during the first half, whilst Dykes came off in the second period with a calf complaint.

Whilst Dykes is hoped to return from his injury before the end of the season, boss Davies stated that it was unlikely Wright would feature again this campaign.

As such, Birmingham have been left a little light up top despite boasting four strikers, with only Alfie May and Lukas Jutkiewicz available as fit striking options.

In the absence of Stansfield, May led the line for Birmingham in midweek, playing the full 90 minutes without finding the back of the net as Blues beat Leyton Orient 2-0.