Liam Manning has admitted that he assumes Luke McNally’s injury is “not going to be great” after the defender hobbled off during Bristol City’s defeat to Swansea City at Ashton Gate.
The Robins missed the chance to climb into the play-off positions as they were beaten 1-0 by Luke Williams’ side on Sunday afternoon, with Josh Tymon’s second-half strike proving to be the difference between the two sides.
Tymon tapped in from close range midway through the second half after Max O’Leary had been unable to push a left-footed shot from Goncalo Franco away from danger. Although that goal proved decisive, City had several chances of their own, the best of which fell to Jason Knight and Rob Dickie, while Sam Bell also hit the post.
With just over 15 minutes to play, Bell replaced McNally who had gone down in front of the Dolman Stand. The centre-back managed to walk around the edge of the pitch before heading down the tunnel and while Manning didn’t confirm the nature of his injury, he did admit the former Burnley man isn’t a player to go off without reason.
“I haven’t to be fair,” Manning told Bristol Live when asked if he had spoken to the defender. “I literally spoke to the group and came straight out.
“I’m guessing it’s not going to be great given the fact he’s hard as nails and has had to come off. He’s someone that plays through quite a lot. So I’m hopeful, but I don’t know. We’ll have to see, I have got no idea where it is. He’s been terrific, he’s done great. Hopefully, it’s not long.”
Sunday afternoon’s defeat was the Robins’ first, in the Championship, on home soil since November when Manning’s side was beaten by Scott Parker’s Burnley. Unlike recent defeats to Coventry City or West Brom however, the Reds could have and perhaps should have come away with all three points.
Knight was denied early on by Lawrence Vigouroux when he tipped the skipper’s header over the bar and the Swansea goalkeeper pulled off an even better save to claw McNally’s first-half volley out of the bottom corner. Despite piling on the pressure either side of half-time, the home side couldn’t find a way past the 31-year-old.
Bristol City Live on Whatsapp
Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone
Bristol City Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.
Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.
To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.
We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.
To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Although Manning was happy with the application and attitude his team showed in defeat, he did concede that a lack of quality in the final third had come back to bite the Robins and not for the first time this season.
“It was frustrating, right? I’m sure everybody is feeling the same right now,” explained the 39-year-old. “The performance level was positive. We should be ahead at half-time, their goalkeeper makes two terrific saves. I thought Rob had a really good header as well that he put over.
“We had some really good moments and there were a lot of positives. The press was good, the purpose and the intent were good and then the second half, a five-minute spell cost us ultimately. I felt we became a little bit passive collectively. The frontline were a little bit passive in duels, the backline a little bit too deep and then you give yourself the challenge of trying to get back into the game.
“None of it was through a lack of attitude, will, or desire or any of the behaviours that are the first thing I look at. Ultimately, we didn’t win today because of quality.”