Liam Manning has explained the plan for Rob Atkinson’s injury rehabilitation after the Bristol City defender suffered a fresh setback during his loan spell with Portsmouth.
Atkinson was one of three senior players to leave Ashton Gate on loan during the January transfer window, with both Fally Mayulu and Kal Naismith also departing the West Country temporarily. They joined Sturm Graz and Luton Town respectively while Atkinson headed to Fratton Park to link up with John Mousinho’s side.
Although the defender’s exit left the Reds slightly short of defensive cover, Manning explained then that he felt Atkinson needed consistent first-team minutes to build his match fitness and grow confidence in his body after almost two years on the sidelines.
The centre-back suffered an ACL injury against Sunderland in 2023 before struggling with various hamstring issues, the last of which ruled him out towards the end of pre-season. While he was fit enough to feature on the Robins’ bench in the run-up to the January transfer window, his only game time came for the Under-21s.
Initially, the loan spell had the desired effect as the 26-year-old forced his way into Pompey’s first-team and made eight Championship starts in his first two months at Fratton Park. However, the City loanee was forced off during Portsmouth’s 2-1 win over QPR at the end of February with a calf issue that Mousinho is expecting to keep him out for between six and eight weeks.
That timeline would leave the former Oxford United defender in a race against time to feature before the end of the regular Championship campaign. While Manning confirmed Atkinson is set to remain on the South Coast for his rehabilitation, he is confident he will be fit and available again before May rolls around.
“Yeah he’s out for a little bit but we expect him back before the end of the season in terms of availability,” Manning told Bristol Live after the Reds’ win at Millwall.
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.
“It’s one of those, he’s stayed with Portsmouth and we’ll stay in touch with them just to see how he progresses.”
Portsmouth are next in action when they travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United on Sunday afternoon. Mousinho’s side currently sit 17th in the Championship table, eight points clear of Luton Town who occupy the final spot in the relegation zone.
Having won promotion to the second tier as League One champions last season, Pompey are aiming to establish themselves as a competitive Championship club and will be hoping Atkinson can return to help them get over the line between now and the end of the campaign in May.