Former Irish League star Mark Sykes has been left 'heartbroken' after suffering a season-ending injury. The Bristol City midfielder has is set to miss the club's promotion push with a quad problem.
Bristol City currently sit fifth in the EFL Championship and are attempting to secure a play-off spot with just four games remaining this season. Their next outing is Friday's clash with fellow promotion hopefuls Sunderland.
Sykes, who has been key to the Robins' success in the second half of the season, was named in the starting line-up to face QPR last time out. However, the Republic of Ireland international suffered the injury during the warm-up.
Initially, City boss Liam Manning wasn't sure how long the 27-year-old would be sidelined, but he now doesn't expect to see the former Glenavon man back this term.
"That's probably the season done for him. He pulled his quad so I don't expect to see him for a while," Manning said.
"I'm gutted for him and he's gutted as well. You could see, his performance level, he'd done terrifically well, especially top end of the pitch and he was quite key in some of the bits that we were doing.
"Big, big blow to lose him, I know he's gutted, we're obviously gutted but, it's part and parcel of it. We then have to make sure we get around him, look after him, and get him back right.
"What it does do is then open the door for somebody else to have an opportunity."
Sykes - who is now doubtful for the Republic of Ireland;s summer games Senegal and Luxembourg - shared the news on his Instagram Stories, adding: "Heartbreaking but hopefully lads can get the job done! Come on Bristol City."
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