"It is a big blow" - Reaction given to fresh Birmingham City, Krystian Bielik news | OneFootball

The Pole injured his ankle in Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Charlton Athletic at The Valley

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Birmingham City look set to be without influential captain Krystian Bielik following the international break, with Blues boss Chris Davies confirming the Pole sustained an ankle injury in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Charlton Athletic.

The 26-year-old failed to return for the second-half at The Valley, as he was replaced by Ben Davies at the back, with his manager revealing that he is set to miss ‘a few weeks’ after the setback.

City went on to lose their first match of the League One season against the Addicks, with Matt Godden seizing the opportunity nine minutes after the break, with Bielik’s absence in the back line evident as the hosts took the lead.

With that in mind, we stuck it to Football League World’s resident Bluenose Mike Gibbs to determine how much of a miss the defender will be during his time on the sidelines, with some key fixtures on the horizon.

Birmingham City should have the depth to deal with Krystian Bielik blow

With Bielik set to be out of action for the next few weeks, Davies will have to switch around his backline, with the Pole starting in all but one game of the Blues’ third tier campaign so far.

Having been dismissed for two yellow cards in their 3-1 victory over Wrexham, Bielik missed his side’s trip to Rotherham United, which saw Ben Davies take his place in the centre of defence alongside Christoph Klarer.

The same thing happened in the Capital on Saturday, but despite falling to defeat without their leader on the field, Gibbs is confident that his side can deal without one of their key players for as long as he is unavailable.

When posed the question regarding the loss of Bielik, the Blues fan said: “I think it is a big blow that he is going to miss a few weeks, hopefully that will be softened by the international break, but it sounds like it is going to be a few weeks after that.

“He has formed a really good partnership with [Christoph] Klarer, we look really solid at the back, especially as they build play.

“We start our play from the back and they are very good at doing that, and have formed a very good and consistent flat four with Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Alex Cochrane.

“The good news is that we have got two good replacements in Ben Davies and Dion Sanderson that should be able to step in, so I would like to think that we would be able to deal with his absence.

“Albeit, the quicker he can get back the better, he is captain as well, and I think he has been a great captain so far.”

Krystian Bielik looks set to miss key Birmingham City clashes

While boss Davies [pictured] remained unclear on the timeline for Bielik’s recovery, the Pole could be set to miss some pivotal fixtures in the next few weeks, with some top talent standing in City’s way.

A trip to fourth-placed Lincoln City will be a huge test of the Blues’ credentials when league action resumes next weekend, with Michael Skubala’s side starting to hit top gear, and will want to put a marker down in front of their own fans at Sincil Bank.

Ian Evatt’s Bolton Wanderers side will then travel to St Andrew’s in midweek, with the under-fire boss likely to want to make a statement after some troubling results in recent weeks, before a trip to Mansfield Town before the end of the month.

While the two sides were two leagues apart last season, the Stags have started the season in red-hot form, and sit just two points behind City at this moment in time, making Bielik’s absence all the more costly with some big fixtures ahead.