Bristol City have suffered a major set-back ahead of the 2022/23 Championship campaign, with star player Antoine Semenyo picking up a lengthy injury.
As per BristolLive, the 22-year-old is set for a spell on the sideline with a shin injury that could see him out for up to three months.
That means that the Ghanaian international is set to miss all of the Robins pre-season, and the opening weeks of the 2022/23 Championship campaign.
BristolLive report that Semenyo returned home early from international duty with Ghana, in which he made his debut, with the injury at the start of the month.
It was initially thought it was a minor problem, however, BristolLive state that tests have now revealed it is more severe than first feared.
The injury comes as Semenyo was attracting serious transfer interest from the likes of Celtic, Nottingham Forest, and Crystal Palace.
It was reported last week that Bristol City rejected a £9 million pound offer from an unnamed club for the forward.
This latest set-back is likely going to dampen any talks of a transfer away from Ashton Gate for the time being.
Semenyo was fantastic throughout the 2021/22 campaign, scoring eight goals and registering 12 assists in 31 Championship outings.
Those are numbers that natually attract potential suitors, but the Robins are keen to keep hold of Semenyo, as per BristolWorld.
The Verdict
This is certainly a set-back for Bristol City ahead of the new campaign.
The games that Semenyo is set to miss at the start of the season could prove to be crucial come May 2023.
This latest injury could put people off being interested in a move for the 22-year-old this summer, though.
In an ideal world, nobody wants to sign an injured player, and although Semenyo's injury would not see him miss a significant part of the season, the hefty fee, reported to be in the region of £15 million pounds, that it would take to get him out of Ashton Gate may be too much for a player that hasn't trained or played for what will be three months.
It will certainly be interesting to see how things play out in BS3 in the coming weeks and months.