Bristol City loanee and Cambridge United midfielder Josh Stokes could be set to face a delay to his return from injury.
The Robins agreed a deal to sign the 20-year-old attacking midfielder from Aldershot Town during the January transfer window, but he didn’t officially make the move to Ashton Gate until the summer.
Stokes spent pre-season with Liam Manning’s side and travelled with the first-team squad for their training camp in Portugal as he looked to make the jump from the National League to the Championship.
After an impressive start to life the young midfielder was named on the Robins’ bench for their opening day draw with Hull City in the Championship before making his competitive debut in the Carabao Cup defeat to Coventry City.
Supporters were impressed by the 20-year-old’s energy off of the bench against the Sky Blues, but the arrival of both George Earthy and Scott Twine meant that Stokes’ first-team opportunities were set to be limited.
A loan move to Cambridge was agreed and the former Aldershot gem started well, impressing in games against Blackpool, Bristol Rovers and Mansfield Town. However, a knee injury picked up against the Stags has seen Stokes sidelined since September.
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Although there had been some hope Stokes would be ready to feature when Cambridge welcome Barnsley to the Cledara Abbey Stadium on Saturday, November 16, U’s boss Garry Monk admits the 20-year-old isn’t yet ready to return to action.
“The idea was for him to be in training next week, he’s had a little bit of aggravation which is nothing too serious,” said Monk. “Whether it will be next week he’s fully into training or it might even be the week after.
“We’re kind of assessing him because he’ll be in training over the weekend and we’ll see how he reacts because he had a little bit of a reaction to it which is nothing serious. But that might delay whether he’s training fully next week or not.”
The U’s face Northampton away on Saturday, November 23 after their clash with Barnsley and after that a home showdown with Bolton follows on Tuesday, November 26. It remains to be seen if Stokes will be fit to play a part in either of those fixtures.