Gerhard Struber shares Max Bird latest after midfielder absent from Bristol City's Oxford loss | Bristol Live

Max Bird was not included in Bristol City's matchday squad for their Championship defeat to Oxford United at Ashton Gate

Max Bird will undergo a scan on a calf injury that saw him miss Bristol City's defeat to Oxford United, Gerhard Struber has confirmed, but the Robins boss is hopeful it is not as severe as the issue the midfielder had in pre-season.

The Reds suffered their first league loss of both the season and Gerhard Struber's tenure as they were beaten 3-1 by the U's at Ashton Gate on Sunday afternoon. First-half strikes from Nik Prelec and Prezemyslaw Placheta, as well as a late goal from Gregory Leigh, ensured that Anis Mehmeti's fourth of the season was scored in vain.

Having featured off of the bench in each of City's last four Championship matches, most expected Bird to once again offer an alternative option in the middle of the park against Gary Rowett's side. However, when the teams were published at 1:45pm, the 24-year-old was missing from both the starting line-up and the substitutes.

Bird missed the bulk of the Robins' pre-season with a calf injury sustained early in the summer, and while it was a similar issue that saw him miss out on Sunday, it is not yet clear just how long the midfielder will be sidelined for on this occasion.

“Yeah, unfortunately he has yesterday, in the pre-match training, a problem again with his calf,” the head coach told Bristol Live after the full-time whistle. “We have to look deeper tomorrow with a scan.

“Also [the same] with Rob Atkinson, and then we know much more.”

When asked if it was a similar issue to the one sustained by the midfielder in pre-season, Struber added, “I think it’s not so bad, it looks a little bit in this way.

"But we will speak tomorrow when we have a clear diagnosis.”

Without both Bird and Rob Atkinson, who was forced off with a knee injury early in the first half, City struggled to deal with Oxford's physical presence from set-pieces and were unable to take their own chances when they made their way into the final third.

The U's' first goal came from a wide free-kick as Prelec found himself unmarked inside the penalty area with 19 minutes played before stooping low to guide his header past Radek Vitek and into the back of the net. Then, on the stroke of half-time, the away side's lead was doubled as Placheta thundered into the top right corner from just outside the area.

For a spell in the second half, it looked as though a comeback could be mounted, particularly when Mehmeti rattled in off the underside of the crossbar from some 25 yards out, but the Robins couldn't find that all-important leveller.

As the clock ticked over to 90 minutes, Gregory put the result beyond doubt when he got the slightest of touches on Brian De Keersmaecker's whipped free-kick to guide the ball into the bottom right corner.

Understandably, the mood inside Ashton Gate was one of frustration come the full-time whistle, and that was an emotion felt within the City changing room, as well as the stands.

"I think our expectation was to win, it's not a second question or opinion," Struber explained when asked about the reaction of his players. "It's really clear, we play against Oxford and we have to win.

"That the disappointment is high and our expectation is so high, it's clear. This is on one side, really good that the boys, they come not in the dressing room smiling or something; they are super disappointed today.

"How we deal in these moments, and they know it, how cheaply we lose this game, this is Championship football."