Birmingham City sweating on Paik Seung-Ho, Jay Stansfield news | OneFootball

Two of Blues' key men have suffered injury woes on international duty

Birmingham City are sweating on news concerning Paik Seung-Ho and Jay Stansfield, as two of Chris Davies' key men have suffered injury concerns on international duty for South Korea and England Under-21's.

Blues' central midfielder was substituted just 38 minutes into his country's World Cup qualifier against Oman at the Goyang Stadium on Wednesday night as a result of what is believed to have been an injury to his left leg.

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that the club's record-signing and 20-goal man, Stansfield, has been sent back to the West Midlands after reporting for duty with Lee Carsley's Young Lions ahead of upcoming encounters with France and Portugal.

Both featured in the club's most recent League One encounter, a 1-1 draw against Northampton Town at Sixfields, which saw Davies' side reach the 83-point mark with 10 games of their season still to play.

However, with nine days still set to pass before Blues return to action against relegation-threatened Shrewsbury Town in B9, it remains to be seen whether Davies is able to call upon the services of two of his most influential performers in a campaign, which will reach the 60-game mark, straight after the two-week break comes to a close.

Prior to the current international break, Davies had praised Paik for his mentality, which has allowed the deep-lying playmaker to continue gaining international recognition, with the Korean initially having fears that he may be overlooked as a result of Blues' position in the third tier.

The 28-year-old has been a mainstay in the side, barring a seven-game absence in all competitions at the turn of the year after a previous injury, before returning to action in the 4-0 win over Cambridge United on February 11th.

Paik's controlled performances also saw him rewarded with his first goal for the club in the 2-1 win over Stevenage last Tuesday, before jetting off to Asia to make his 20th international appearance.

However, as reported by Birmingham Live, that would only last 38 minutes, with the former Barcelona man receiving treatment on his left leg before making his way off the pitch and being replaced by Kang-In Lee.

It remains to be seen whether Paik will feature in the upcoming qualifier against Jordan, with Blues left to wait with bated breath over the availability of the man who has oozed class alongside Japanese international, Tomoki Iwata.

Meanwhile, it has also been reported by Sky Sports - via Birmingham World - that the aforementioned Stansfield was deemed unfit to feature in former Blues midfielder Carsley's first fixtures at Under-21's level since last year, having taken interim charge of the England senior team following Gareth Southgate's resignation.

Stansfield's issue has been described as "knocks" and isn't a major cause for concern, with the league leaders said to be taking precautionary action ahead of the run-in.

Birmingham City need to utilise their squad ahead of congested run-in

Whilst much has been made of the resources at Davies' disposal, the Blues boss has seen plenty of key performers sidelined at a crucial period of the season, with the likes of Taylor Gardner-Hickman, Ethan Laird, Lyndon Dykes, Lee Buchanan and Scott Wright all injured ahead of the international break.

This isn't the first time Stansfield has withdrawn from an Under-21's squad, having done so in October, again through injury, whilst the striker has also just made a return to full availability after suffering an issue in the EFL Trophy semi-final success over Bradford City last month.

The striker's current issue doesn't look to be too concerning for Blues, whilst they must wait for revelations on Paik, although the centre of Davies' midfield has recently been boosted by the return of Marc Leonard.

Regardless, the 39-year-old has, in some ways, very little choice but to rest and rotate ahead of what is now an extremely congested run-in, with the club now set to play nine matches in April, which includes the EFL Trophy final against Peterborough United at Wembley and a spell of four games in nine days afterwards, as a result of fixture rescheduling.

Some may argue this limits the chances of Blues breaking the points record at this level of 103, although the objective of sealing promotion and the title will be the first thing on the former Tottenham Hotspur assistant's mind.