Joe Williams: Bristol City midfielder is out for ‘months’ with Achilles tear

Bristol City midfielder Joe Williams is set to be out for “months” with a partial tear of his Achilles tendon.

Williams went off injured during the win against Preston on 2 November and has been in London seeing a specialist.

The 27-year-old has made 12 Championship appearances for the Robins so far this season.

“We’re talking months for Joe, it’s an unfortunate one and one that’s tricky to heal because of how Achilles tend to repair so it’s one you have to be careful with,” head coach Liam Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

Bristol City were enduring somewhat of an injury crisis before the international break, but Manning said a number of players were nearing their return to the first team.

Scott Twine is “getting close” as is Kal Naismith who is “not far away,” while Ross McCrorie is still a “couple of weeks away”.

Sam Bell and Rob Atkinson, who have both been out with long-term injuries, are also nearing returns.

“It’s making sure that Rob doesn’t go two, three, four weeks without playing match minutes because I do think it’s really important for him to keep building up that bank of workload,” Manning said.

“[Bell has] been training fully, he looks really sharp but he’s looking well so hopefully he can continue that.”