Bristol City manager Lee Johnson said Benik Afobe could be like a 'new signing' if he returns in time for the remainder of the season.

The club's signing of Benik Afobe on-loan from Stoke City at the start of the season looked to have made the difference in Bristol City achieving top-six or not.

He got off to a blinding start at his new club, scoring three in the first five and leading the Robin's front-line tremendously. But the 27-year-old was soon dealt was one of the cruellest blows of his career:

"Afobe was a big, big signing for us on-loan from Stoke," Johnson told Radio 5 Live. "Early on in the season he was fantastic, really looking like the real deal and then literally, freak incident in training."

Afobe was sidelined for the remainder of this season in September, after snapping his ACL in a 'freak incident' in training. His absence left Bristol City looking like a much weaker side, but Johnson is holding hope in him returning for the end of the campaign:

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"To have a player like that return for us would be like a new signing," he explained. "He is out on the grass and he is striking a ball at the moment and that could be a really big boost for us."

Teams in the Championship have nine games left to play - 27 points left to play for. Bristol City currently sit a point and a place outside the top-six and both Johnson and the fans would love to see Afobe make a shock return, and fire Bristol City into the play-offs.

When and how the season will be concluded remains to be finalised, but it seems that finishing the season is a priority for the EFL. Afobe will be doing remote training like the rest of his teammates right now, and it's just a case of waiting and seeing if he's fit in time.

The verdict

It'd be a huge story if Afobe came back into the team, picked up where left off and made Bristol City into the top-six side that they looked to be at the start of the season.

Throwing him in would be a gamble though, and Afobe and Johnson will have to think long and hard about the former's potential return to action.