"I will" - Jay Stansfield breaks silence on Birmingham City injury blow with telling update | OneFootball

The Blues striker was stretchered off 15 minutes into the second half of Birmingham's 2-1 EFL Trophy semi-final win v Bradford City.

Jay Stansfield has offered an encouraging update to Birmingham City supporters in his first message since being stretchered off in Blues' EFL Trophy semi-final win over Bradford City.

Posting to his Instagram account on Thursday, the 22-year-old striker has reassured Birmingham fans that his injury isn't as serious as many feared it would be.

City's talismanic centre-forward scored a superbly taken opening goal just before half-time in the 2-1 win over Bradford on Tuesday night, but was stretchered off the pitch 15 minutes into the second half after being on the receiving end of an awkward-looking challenge from behind by Bantams defender Romoney Crichlow.

It was a tackle that could easily have seen referee Scott Oldham point to the penalty spot, as Crichlow failed to play the ball as he barged into the back of Stansfield inside the box, but those claims were waved away as Bradford went down the other end of the St. Andrew's pitch and equalised.

Birmingham City striker Jay Stansfield in highly encouraging injury update

A collective sigh of relief will have been heard across Birmingham today, as Stansfield took to his Instagram account to put Blues fans' minds at rest after seeing him carried off the pitch on Tuesday.

Stansfield wrote: "A dream come true to get the opportunity to play at Wembley. I’m also very happy that my injury isn’t as serious as first feared.

"I will do everything I can to get back on the pitch as soon as possible. KRO 💙🤍."

This update from the player himself has been accompanied by a statement on the Birmingham City website confirming the details surrounding the seriousness of his injury.

It reads: "The Blues striker was stretchered off an hour into Tuesday night’s Vertu Trophy victory over Bradford City. Stansfield was taken to a local hospital where scans have since revealed no indication of bone or ligament damage to the affected area.

"The 22-year-old will continue to be assessed by the club's medical staff in the coming days."

Stansfield Wembley "dream come true" hint could suggest he will be fit to play in April final

With no indication of bone or ligament damage to Stansfield's knee, it may not be long before he's back on the pitch after all.

In fact, the England youth international may have left a clue in his Instagram statement as to when he may have returned to action by, after saying that it was: "A dream come true to get the opportunity to play at Wembley."

That would strongly suggest that either he feels confident, or he's perhaps been told that he will have returned to full fitness by mid-April, as the EFL Trophy final is scheduled to take place on Sunday 13 April.

More concrete details about his timetable for a return will surely emerge in the coming days, but it would appear that the prolific striker is hopeful that he will still play a big part in Birmingham's League One promotion push, as well as their quest for silverware at Wembley.