Cardiff City

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Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut says he "does not think" they will have striker Kion Etete back before the end of the season.

The Bluebirds have six Championship games left to play this campaign, the first of which is at home against Hull City on Saturday.

The 22-year-old has scored six goals for Cardiff this season - three in the league - but has not featured since the Bluebirds beat Bristol City on 2 March.

“He’s [Etete] still out with the groin injury," said Bulut.

"He was back for some training sessions but then he felt a pain again.

"I don’t think he’ll be back before the end of the season.”

Cardiff have turned to Yakou Meite, Karlan Grant, Josh Bowler and Callum Robinson to lead the line in Etete's absense.

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Captain Joe Ralls says there has been “massive progress” at Cardiff City under manager Erol Bulut, whose future at the club remains uncertain.

Bulut, 49, has publicly asked the Bluebirds’ board of directors for clarity about his situation, with his contract expiring at the end of the Championship campaign.

Bulut says uncertainty over his future has affected his players’ performances.

But with six games of the season remaining, Cardiff have already guaranteed a considerably higher finish in the Championship than last season, when they ended up just one place above the relegation zone.

Monday's 2-1 win at Coventry City leaves them eight points off the play-off places in 11th.

“It’s been massive progress, to be in with a shout of the play-offs,” said Ralls.

“Looking at it all season, there's been progress, we’re just outside the top 10 now. It would be great to try and get as high as we can, to finish strong.

“The manager has helped us a lot, we had a full pre-season with him. The only thing that's been lacking this season has been the consistency - every club looks for it, it's so hard to get.

“We've been a little bit up and down but we've shown real good signs of where we could be.

"Hopefully whatever the situation, we've got to look and build on that and try and get that consistency next season and towards the end of the season. There's still six games to go and we’ll try and finish as strong as we can”.

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Rubin Colwill should be fit in time for Cardiff City's Championship fixture at home to Hull on Saturday.

The Wales international attacking midfielder missed Monday's 2-1 win at Coventry with an ankle injury.

But manager Erol Bulut is confident it is only a minor issue.

“He had a problem with his ankle," Bulut told BBC Radio Wales.

“I think yes [he will back for Hull].”

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Manager Erol Bulut would like to see Liverpool loanee Nat Phillips return to Cardiff City next season - but does not know where either of their futures lie.

Centre-back Phillips has impressed for Cardiff in the Championship since joining on loan from the Reds in January.

He will return to Liverpool at the end of this season, when Bulut's contract will also expire.

Neither player nor manager has opened talks about extending their stay with Cardiff.

“We have to speak about different things. I know he has one more year on his contract with Liverpool," Bulut told BBC Radio Wales.

“If I’m the coach here again next season, I don’t know, but I would like to see him again here.

“Nat came in January and settled in really well. He’s one of the leaders in defence.”

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Cardiff City will not give up on their faint Championship play-off hopes, says manager Erol Bulut.

Monday's 2-1 win at Coventry means the Bluebirds are eight points adrift of the top six with only six games left.

Cardiff were in more realistic contention for the play-offs earlier this season and, although their chances are now rather remote, Bulut is not ruling anything out.

“It will be really difficult but we will not give up," he told BBC Radio Wales.

“If we had beaten Sunderland [Cardiff lost 2-0 at home on Friday], maybe I would speak a bit differently.

“We will fight for the rest of the season, for the last six games. Anything can happen. My guys will give everything.”

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Erol Bulut says Aaron Ramsey is not yet ready to return to Cardiff City’s starting side.

Wales captain Ramsey, 33, made just his 10th Cardiff appearance since returning to his boyhood club last summer when he came on as a half-time substitute in Friday’s defeat to Sunderland.

Ramsey had recently returned to action after a calf injury, having been out for five months earlier in the season with a knee problem.

“Physically he is not on the level that he can be in the starting XI,” said Cardiff boss Bulut.

“We used him [against Sunderland] for 45 minutes.

“In the second half we put him in and he started to change things a little bit offensively, but you cannot expect one or two players to change the whole game when you have so many players [not playing well].

“We don’t need to speak about Ramsey’s quality. He now needs games. He needs maybe one or two more games, then he can have a start.”

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Manager Erol Bulut described Cardiff City's performance in their 2-0 defeat at home to Sunderland on Friday as one of their worst of the season.

The Bluebirds were comprehensively outplayed by a Sunderland side who recorded their first win in eight games.

This was a second successive 2-0 defeat for Cardiff, who were similarly woeful when they lost at arch rivals Swansea City before the international break.

“Today I have to be honest, from the 39 games we’ve played this season, this was one of the worst," Bulut said of the Sunderland game.

"I have to be clear about that. I didn’t like it at all.

“Until minute 12, when we conceded a penalty, everything was fine. After that, we lost totally our confidence, our playing shape. We couldn’t create.

“This is disappointing. We couldn’t wake up. We lost a lot of duels, a lot of individual mistakes were made. When you make this many mistakes, you cannot expect to win the game.

“During the international break, the players trained really well so I was expecting a much better game. To see that performance today, it hurts."

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Manager Erol Bulut hopes Cardiff City can finish strongly as they approach the closing stages of the Championship season.

The Bluebirds had been on a four-match winning streak before losing 2-0 to arch rivals Swansea City earlier this month.

Having had the international break to wipe that derby defeat from their memories, Cardiff return with a home match against Sunderland on Friday (15:00 GMT).

The play-off places - eight points away - are probably out of reach now, but Bulut is not ruling anything out.

"We have only eight games to play," he said. "Everyone knows where we want to be and what we want to push.

"I don't need to hide about that. Before, I said we take it game by game and this will continue like this.

"In front of us, the next three or for games will decide where we want to be, where we will be."

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Cardiff City forward Karlan Grant says he will decide on his long-term future once his loan spell from West Bromwich Albion is over.

Grant, 26, has impressed for the Bluebirds since joining from West Brom on a season-long loan last summer.

However, he has only managed five goals in 34 Championship appearances, the majority of which have been on the left wing.

Grant has two years remaining on the six-year contract he signed with West Brom when he joined from Huddersfield Town in the summer of 2020.

"We'll have to see [about next season]," said Grant.

"I've still got years left on my contract at West Brom, so it's a conversation for the clubs to have. I'll go back and have a chat with my representatives and we'll see what the best option is for me.

“I’ve enjoyed it here [Cardiff]. Everyone has been very welcoming. The fans have been great with me and the staff, everyone affiliated with the club have been great.

"I’ve definitely matured as a player. I do still see myself as a goalscorer and I probably haven’t done that enough this season, but I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I can be an asset to the team.

"I’ve managed to do that here and I’ve enjoyed it. Hopefully, I can continue that and add more goals."

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Cardiff City will be without left-back Jamilu Collins for Friday's Championship game at home to Sunderland because of a hamstring issue.

Collins, 29, picked up the injury while playing for Nigeria in a friendly with Mali on Tuesday.

"It's not something serious. Only to protect him," said Cardiff manager Erol Bulut.

"Also Kion [Etete, Cardiff striker]. He's trained with us but he's not fully ready.

"Our goalkeeper Jak [Alnwick] still doesn't feel confident because of his knee injury. It's a difficult place when you have this kind of injury. It's not easy to come back quick.

"He's still afraid a little bit to touch or kick the ball. We have to be careful with him."

There is better news on winger Callum O'Dowda, who could start against Sunderland having only featured as a substitute since returning from a long-term groin injury.

"Today [Thursday] we trained and everything looked good," said Bulut.

"Let's see tomorrow."

Midfielder Aaron Ramsey is still not ready to start but could feature from the bench again, with Bulut adding: "Maybe not to start but for 30 minutes or 45 minutes he will be available."