Kasey Palmer was a surprise omission from the Bristol City matchday squad against Cardiff City but his absence is down to a thigh injury sustained in training, Bristol Live understands.
Palmer, who made a substitute appearance against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, would have been on the bench for the Severnside Derby against Cardiff underwent a scan on the injury on Friday morning.
Head coach Lee Johnson made three changes to his starting XI for the clash against the Bluebirds with Dan Bentley replacing the injured Niki Maenpaa in goal, Tomas Kalas coming in for the suspended Ashley Williams at centre-back and Famara Diedhiou returning in attack with Benik Afobe dropping to the bench.
Maenpaa sustained an ankle injury during the first-half against Forest, in attempting to clear the ball, with the injury keeping him out of the squad altogether with Joe Wollacott as No2 to Bentley.
Niclas Eliasson's Achilles issue keeps him out again, with surprise inclusions of striker Freddie Hinds, whose spent much of the season on loan at Colchester, and forward Marley Watkins among the substitutes.
Hinds makes the squad due to the increasing lack of numbers available to Johnson and if the Robins are to suffer one more, they will be able to draft in one of their returning loanees into the squad.
"Both injured," Johnson told BBC Radio Bristol. "Niclas Eliasson - his Achilles, there’s a bit of tendinitis. We tried him yesterday but he didn’t quite come through it.
"Kasey Palmer has had an ongoing thigh injury over the last month and he had it scanned and there’s a slight tear in there."
Neil Harris has resisted the temptation to give Lee Tomlin his first start since February with the former Robins playmaker, who sustained a serious knee injury, on the bench once again for Cardiff, along with ex-City favourites Aden Flint and Marlon Pack.
Bristol City (4-4-2): Bentley; Vyner, Baker, Kalas, Dasilva; Weimann, Smith (c), Nagy, O'Dowda; Diedhiou, Wells; Subs: Wollacott, Hunt, Watkins, Paterson, Hinds, Rowe, Benkovic, Afobe, Massengo
