Birmingham City will be without both Alen Halilovic and Jon Toral for their crucial battle on Sunday against Rotherham United - with the latter out for the rest of the season.

The Blues are in really good form right now, winning three of their five games under new manager Lee Bowyer, who has brought a renewed confidence to the camp.

They head to Yorkshire this weekend to face a side who could catch them though with a few wins, and should the Millers come out on top it puts Birmingham yet again in a bad position in the relegation battle.

Bowyer will have to do without two creative midfielders though for the trip, including mid-season signing Halilovic.

The Croatian was in and out of the team under Aitor Karanka, but he's played in every game for Bowyer so far, however he came off at half time in the 2-0 victory over Stoke at the weekend.

 

 

 

 

He's taken a blow to the ankle and according to Bowyer hasn't trained all week, so he will not be risked at the New York Stadium.

Halilovic may be back for the midweek clash with Nottingham Forest, but Toral won't be as he's been sidelined for the rest of the campaign due to a hamstring injury, having made two substitute appearances under Bowyer.

"Jon Toral will be out for the rest of the season,” Bowyer said, per BirminghamLive.

“He’s done his hamstring and obviously we don’t have long left of the season, so he’ll be done for the season now.”

The Verdict

With Toral not appearing again this season, Blues fans may have seen him for the last time due to his contract being up in the summer.

He wouldn't be described as a huge miss for the upcoming games as he hasn't featured too much this season, but Halilovic on his day is dangerous and he could have provided the key to unlock the Rotherham defence on Sunday.

Bowyer will now have to get creative to try and find the winning formula to defeat Paul Warne's men this weekend in what promises to be a real ding-dong battle.