Bristol City's loan star George Earthy withdrew from the England Elite League Squad during the March international break
16:00, 26 Mar 2025
George Earthy joined Bristol City on loan from West Ham United last summer(Image: Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)
Liam Manning has confirmed that West Ham United loanee George Earthy is in contention to feature for Bristol City against Burnley this weekend, despite withdrawing from international duty during the March break.
The versatile midfielder had been named in Ben Futcher's England Elite League squad for fixtures against Portugal and Spain this month, however, the FA confirmed last Tuesday that the 20-year-old had withdrawn from the squad with Blackburn Rovers loanee Amario Cozier-Duberry the man to replace him.
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No reason was given for Earthy's exit, with supporters understandably concerned that the Hammers prospect had picked up an injury during or following the Robins' win over Norwich City last time out. Although he did have an issue which saw him miss some training last week, Manning has revealed he has returned to training ahead of Saturday's trip to Turf Moor.
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"Yeah," Manning simply told Bristol Live when asked if the West Ham United loanee was okay having withdrawn from the national squad.
"He went back to West Ham, he had a scan, he reported, went up to St George's Park and they had a look at him. He came back, missed a few days training but was then back in this week.
"Yep," the head coach finished when asked if that meant Earthy was in contention to feature against Burnley.
Scott Parker's Clarets currently sit third in the Championship, two points adrift of both Sheffield United and Leeds United, and the automatic promotion places. In their 38 league games so far, the Clarets have conceded just 18 goals and they haven't lost in the Championship since November 3, when Millwall got the better of them at The Den.
While Burnley's form has been impressive, Manning's side also come into Saturday's clash off the back of a good recent run. The Robins are unbeaten in their last seven matches, level on points with sixth-placed West Brom and a win at Turf Moor could be enough to see them climb into the play-off places if results elsewhere in the division are to go their way.
When the two sides met at Ashton Gate earlier this season, it was the Clarets who came out on top. Jaidon Anthony's first-half goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win for the away side, however, the Reds felt they should have had a penalty when the ball appeared to strike Josh Brownhill's arm in the box during the second-half. Although that decision left Manning frustrated, on the whole, he was impressed with his team's display against one of the division's strongest sides.
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Of course, the City boss knows this weekend's trip to Lancashire will be by no means easy, but he wants his players to relish the challenge and he is hopeful they will take confidence from their past performances over the course of the season so far.
"Difficult," the head coach smiled when asked what sort of test the Clarets would pose. "I say it every week but it will be extremely difficult.
"Obviously, coming down last season like they did and keeping a decent amount of their players, everyone knows how difficult they are to play against but we were saying that a few weeks ago against Sheffield United, so we have to take confidence from that and go there and do us.
"I think that's the biggest bit, whatever the outcome is, we have to look at ourselves and if we've given absolutely everything, that's the bare minimum we expect. Tough game but one that we should face head-on and definitely not be fearful of. It's one that we should relish."
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