Bristol City defender Rob Dickie missed the Robins’ win over Watford after being stretchered off against Lincoln City
Bristol City will know more about the severity of Rob Dickie’s injury in the next two days, Michael Skubala has revealed, but early surgery has confirmed the Robins defender hasn’t suffered an ACL issue.
The Reds’ vice-captain missed Friday night’s win over Watford after he was stretchered off during Tuesday’s defeat to Lincoln City. City bounced back from their loss to the Imps with a 1-0 win over the Hornets at Ashton Gate, in their final match before the international break.
Dom Ballard scored the game’s only goal shortly after the half-hour mark. The summer signing headed home his third of the season, and his first in BS3, from midway inside the penalty box, having been picked out by a curling Rio Cardines cross from the left wing.
Although the performance and result against Watford will have lifted the mood in south Bristol heading into the extended interval, the Reds are still dealing with the blow of losing Dickie, who has been a regular starter so far this term.
While it will take a few days yet for Skubala and his coaching staff to be sure of just how long they will be without the 30-year-old, the early signs have been “positive” with one of football’s most feared injuries – an ACL issue – ruled out.
“The surgeon has been in and had a look,” the Robins manager said when asked about the defender’s condition after the full-time whistle on Friday evening. “It’s not an ACL, which is a positive.
“But we probably need another 48 hours to see what the severity is, at the moment. So we’ll see. The good thing is that it’s not an ACL. Probably [on] Monday we’ll get more information.”
Adding a few more details in an interview with BBC Radio Bristol, Skubala explained, “He’s been in surgery today, but we’re not 100 per cent sure what it is. I think in 48 hours we’ll be a lot, lot clearer.
“But the first thing is, it’s not an ACL, so we’ll see from there.”
In the absence of Dickie, Skubala opted to reshuffle almost the entirety of his backline for the visit of Watford. Noah Eile made his first competitive start at centre-back this season, while Rob Atkinson returned to the starting line-up for the first time since the opening-day defeat to Millwall.
With George Tanner operating at right-back and Rio Cardines stationed on the left-side of the back four, Lisav Eissat dropped to the bench. The combination of Tanner, Eile, Atkinson and Cardines – alongside goalkeeper Sam Tickle – played a key role in securing the Reds’ first clean sheet of the campaign.
After the full-time whistle, Skubala was keen to praise those who stepped up to replace Dickie, highlighting Atkinson’s importance to both the defensive unit and the squad, in particular.
“I thought they were both great,” the City boss told Bristol Live. “We’ve got some really good players in this club. Rob Atkinson is an unbelievable professional.
“He’s been a brilliant guy for the group; he’s got experience, and I think with the young guys – Noah and Lisav – you need to play some experience next to them. I thought today, both of them were great, and Noah coming in for his first start, if you like – he started at Preston in a different structure – I thought they did great and looked solid.
“They didn’t give much away. I think can think of a couple of individual moments by them, but not too much. But it’s important; the clean sheet’s important, but I thought the full-backs as well did well.”
Original Source: Bristol Post
