Bristol City fans will have been delighted to see central midfielder Korey Smith finally look as if he could be over the injury nightmare that he has had to endure in recent months.

Across the past year-and-a-half, Smith has had to endure being out with an injured knee as well as two broken bones and a torn ligament, which has seen him make just the six appearances for the Robins since the start of the 2018-2019 season.

Smith has made a couple of appearances for the under-23s this campaign as he stepped up his recovery in recent weeks, and fans will have been delighted to see him named as a substitute on Saturday for City's clash with Nottingham Forest.

The 28-year-old, who signed for the club in the summer of 2014 from Oldham Athletic, has become a fan favourite across the past five years in Bristol, cementing himself in City history with the last-minute winner over a strong Manchester United side in the Carabao Cup 2017-2018 quarter-final.

Smith is a central midfielder who is capable of playing as the holding midfielder or as the box-to-box midfielder, and City fans are desperate to see him fit for first-team action.

With the way that the game was going on Saturday, introducing Smith would have been a risk and would have perhaps gone against City with him having not played alongside Nagy before and he would have had to adjust quickly into a new-look midfield.

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Fans will be delighted to see another central midfield option become available for selection as Lee Johnson's side approach a busy time of the season, and they will be hoping that Smith can now stay fit following his injury nightmare across the past 14 months.

The former Oldham Athletic captain, who played under Johnson for the Latics, can be trusted to do a job in the midfield by the manager and the supporters, however, everyone knows that the midfielder needs to be eased back in slowly.

City fans gave Smith's name one of the biggest cheers on Saturday when the lineups and substitutes were announced, and they can't wait to see the midfielder back on the pitch again.