Nigel Pearson afforded a wry smile during yesterday's interview with Robins TV when discussing his options for this weekend.
The City manager confirmed Tomas Kalas and Kal Naismith will both miss out with injuries once again but more ominously, he conceded one or two players have been suffering illness in the build-up to the fixture and could be forced to sit out.
He then grinned as he hinted he may have to look towards the Under-21s when naming his squad. Pearson said: "There may be opportunities again for some younger players coming into the squad that our fans haven’t seen before. If that happens, good luck to them."
Some very loose detective work by scouting the latest City training videos on social media may give us some indication as to who could miss out or be included by process of elimination.
Defender Timm Klose didn't appear to feature alongside the likes of Andy King, George Tanner, Antoine Semenyo and Andi Weimann in the clip. Semenyo was, however, pictured with teammates at the Robins Foundation Quiz on Tuesday night.
Although we're keen to stress that is by no means confirmation of Pearson's availability for the weekend but the fact that a trio of young defenders in Raphael Araoye, Joe Low and Jamie Knight-Lebel have all trained with the senior side this week, may indicate the manager will be light of options in defence, especially in the wake of Kalas and Naismith's absences.
Here's five players who could make the Championship step up for the first time against the Swans...
Joe Low
If Klose is one of the players ill, and we have to reiterate it is a big 'if' at the moment, then Low could be the most suitable player to come into the City squad. The no-nonsense central defender has captained the Under-21s side throughout the season and has impressed in the heart of a back three with his side currently top of the table.
He's the sort of player Pearson likes in terms of attributes. He's dominant in the air, strong in the tackle and he's quick on the ground. His only experience of senior football is during a loan spell for Eastleigh last season and therefore bringing him into the side against a team who have seven out of their last 10 will certainly feel like a baptism of fire.
However from the current crop who are coming through the youth side, Low is certainly the one that continues to stand out. He's predominantly played in the centre of the back three although has moved out to the right when Klose and Sol Bamba featured in the youth side.
Stefan Bajic
The young City keeper is certainly impressing in training and the Under-21 side following his arrival in the summer from Ligue 2 side Pau. A string of strong performances for the youth side has gained further attention from the coaching staff although he did endure a blunder in a recent victory over QPR at Ashton Gate.
Pearson was very complimentary about the stopper in a press conference a couple of weeks ago. He admitted the 20-year-old is fast-tracking himself into contention at the same time when the No1 shirt seems very much up for grabs.
Earlier in the month, the manager said: "He'll be coming into the reckoning. He has been travelling with the squad and trains very, very well. He's just a very positive person and I think that's good for us.
"It creates more competition and I suppose he falls into the category of when we signed him he was one for the future but he may fast-track himself just by being in the right place at the right time."
Dan Bentley's surprise dropping following the 3-0 defeat at Birmingham has seen Max O'Leary come into the team for the last four matches but there's no reason to suggest he won't keep his place at the weekend. Bajic does have league experience having featured for his boyhood club St Etienne in Ligue 1 while also playing 15 times in the French second division.
Raphael Araoye
Such is Araoye's potential, the club were keen to tie him down this summer and the 18-year-old penned a three-year contract this summer. He missed a large chunk of last season with injury but returned in pre-season to be immediately among the mix of senior players.
He earned pitch time in the friendly against Exeter and again at Premier League Bournemouth to suggest he could be at the forefront of Pearson's mind should he need to turn to his youth players. Araoye is a left-sided player who has played on the left of the back three and at wing-back.
Araoye is a tall, commanding defender who is part of the furniture at the club having joined at the age of 10. Pearson was keen to play down expectations at the beginning of the season when he said: "He's another one of our youngsters coming through the academy which has attributes to lend themselves much to the modern game, but we have to be careful with how we expose players like that.
“Sometimes players, when they start thinking too much can struggle. He'll be going now mostly back down to his own age group which is how it should be."
Omar Taylor-Clarke
The midfielder was another young player to have trained with the senior squad this week. Although it would seem unlikely at this stage to see him feature given the pecking order of midfielders.
Matty James, Joe Williams, Alex Scott and Andy King are all ahead of him (although King wasn't present in the training video). Then there's Dylan Kadji who has also earned valuable first-team minutes this season while Han-Noah Massengo remains in the reckoning despite falling into the U21s.
Pearson has often emphasised the importance of allowing City's youth players to experience being around a senior environment and that could very much be the case with Taylor-Clarke. The 18-year-old did sign a contract extension last month which will keep him at the club until 2025, only reiterating how highly he is regarded by the club.
He's a player who can hold his position in the middle but with the flexibility to break through the lines, which he has the freedom of doing with Kadji playing in the deeper role for the U21s.
Jamie Knight-Lebel
At the age of 17 and without a senior appearance to his name, it would seem a risk to bring the defender into contention for Swansea but he has been training with the first-team on more than one occasion.
Knight-Lebel is traditionally a central defender who has featured on the right of the three. He signed a three-year deal this summer having spent three years with the club after joining from Southampton's academy.
Knight-Lebel is another player whose potential knows no bounds having already teamed up with the Canadian Under-20 youth team but with Zak Vyner seemingly fit after taking part in the Robins quiz night on Tuesday and George Tanner also a potential option on the right side of that defence, it would be a surprise to see his name among the substitutes.
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