Birmingham City’s defender Lee Buchanan’s fitness ahead of the new season has raised concerns.
The Blues’ League One season in 2024/25 begins in two weeks’ time. They will face Reading in their first game on August 10.
As the new term approaches, one Blues XI played a friendly against Walsall, while another faced Aldershot Town. Buchanan was in the starting lineup for the latter but was forced to leave early.
The left-back was substituted with half an hour remaining in the 3-1 defeat. First team assistant manager Ben Petty was unwilling to take any chances and replaced Buchanan with Sahid Camara.
When asked about Buchanan later, Petty told the club website, “He was just feeling his calf a little bit.” At this point in the preseason, we don’t want to take any risks.
“We’re hoping it’s nothing catastrophic, but it wasn’t worth the risk. We brought on young Sahid at left-back, and felt he was excellent.”
Keshi Anderson started the scoring for the Blues against Aldershot. He scored in the seventh minute after latching onto Emil Hansson’s wonderful ball across the box. However, the non-league hosts recovered and won with goals from Ryan Jones, Theo Widdrington, and Ollie Bray.
The Blues will finish their pre-season schedule with a match against West Bromwich Albion. They will host the Baggies next Saturday (August 3), with a 3 p.m. kickoff.