Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson has backed Antoine Semenyo to continue studying his own game following his spell on the sidelines 12 months ago and return a better player after his injury set-back.
The striker cast the Robins a big pre-season blow after it was confirmed he will be out of action for up to 12 weeks with a shin injury, ruling him out of the opening games of the season with a return to training likely to be at the beginning of September.
Semenyo sustained the injury earlier this month after making his international debut with Ghana earlier in the month as a substitute in an African Cup of Nations qualifying victory over Madagascar and returned to the club for more checks and treatment.
He was then forced to see a specialist after experiencing more pain before the severity of Semenyo's injury was confirmed. What's more frustrating is that it's the second time in successive years that the 22-year-old has missed pre-season training meaning he has been forced to play catch-up with his fitness levels.
Semenyo underwent knee surgery 12 months ago and it wasn't until December when he fully regained his fitness and helped transform City's attack with his terrific form attracting Premier League scouts from across the country. He then ended the season with eight goals and 12 assists in 31 league appearances.
The striker would later admit the injury came as a blessing in disguise as it gave him time to study his game, saying "it gave me time to assess where I'm at and where I could be. It helped me analyse my game and get me to the point where I'm at now by implementing some new things."
Now Pearson believes he can take confidence from the player's maturity and desire to get better to ensure he can hit the ground running upon his return to action.
Speaking to Robins TV, the City manager said: "It's a frustration for him. He had a really good second half of the season and he's an exciting player. But we just have to see how that one goes.
"What's important for him is that he continues to be the type of player, he learned a lot last year when he was out injured, he studies his own game and he's very ambitious. I'm delighted for him and his family that he made his debut for Ghana and his federation were very diligent in making sure they looked after him and that he came back so we could make decisions on how to deal with his shin problem.
"We'll see, I don't know how long he'll be about for at this moment in time but he'll be fine."
Pearson was also keen to stress that the injury will hand someone else the opportunity to impress. Nahki Wells, whose future at City remains in doubt as he enters the final year of his contract, is the most likely back-up following a frustrating season.
The form of City's front three last season saw Wells make just seven league starts while youngsters Sam Bell and Tommy Conway will be eager to impress in pre-season to stake their claims before the new season. Another option will be to play Alex Scott in the No10 role behind Andi Weimann and Chris Martin.
Pearson added: "When one player has an injury problem there's an opportunity for someone else. I don't waste energy thinking about the negative aspects of him not being available at the start of the season. We can't change that so we just get on with it."
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