Gerhard Struber shares Rob Atkinson update as Bristol City boss 'sad' for fans after Stoke loss | Bristol Live

Bristol City defender Rob Atkinson was forced off with an injury early in the second half of the Robins' defeat to Stoke City

Gerhard Struber has provided an update on Rob Atkinson after the Bristol City defender was forced off during the Robins' heavy defeat to Stoke City, with the head coach admitting the defender's issue "looks not good."

Atkinson was withdrawn early in the second half as the Reds were thrashed 5-1 by the Potters at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon to suffer their first away league defeat of the campaign, a result which brings their three-match winning run to an end.

A Divin Mubama hat-trick as well as a goal apiece for Million Manhoef and Junior Tchamadeu ensured that Mark Sykes' late header was little more than a consolation to leave City fifth in the Championship after 13 matches.

After a challenging opening period, Atkinson took to the field for the second half but was replaced by Haydon Roberts just two minutes later. The defender had gone to ground and received treatment after Stoke's fourth goal, and while the exact details of his injury aren't yet known, the early signs are far from positive.

"I think this looks not good," Struber told Bristol Live in his post-match press conference. "At the moment, I have no clear diagnosis.

"I spoke with our doc [and] it goes in the direction of a hamstring injury. We have to look; tomorrow, we want to make a scan and then we are clearer, but right now, it looks not good."

The 27-year-old's injury compounded what was already an incredibly challenging day for Struber and his players. City had found themselves on the back foot when, after just four minutes, Mubama turned a cross from the right wing past Radek Vitek to open the scoring.

Less than 20 minutes later, the Manchester City loanee tucked home his second of the afternoon when he capitalised on an error from the Robins' goalkeeper, before Manhoef extended the advantage further when he curled home before the half-hour mark.

After the break, the Reds threw caution to the wind in search of a route back into the game, but Tchamadeu's powerful effort and Mubama's third goal of the afternoon put the result beyond doubt before the clock had ticked over to 70 minutes.

Quickly after the full-time whistle, Struber and his players made their way over to the corner of the ground housing the travelling fans who had made the trip from the West Country. Although the City boss himself was frustrated, he was equally disappointed on behalf of the supporters packed into the away end.

"It was a really big hit in the face today," the Robins head coach explained. "[I had] a completely different expectation about our performance, but we were, today, I think, in more directions, not the team that we are normally.

"In the pressing moments, we were not synchronised; it was always a little bit too late. Of course, [we have] big respect for Stoke City today. How they create, with dynamic moments, problems for us, but we were not ready together to find control against a team on this level. This was not our typical face today.

"First of all, we are again very, very happy with how many fans were here today, and I feel sad for the fans," he continued. "We can lose games, no problem, but in the end, we have to show a different face, and today this was too easy.

"Sometimes I have the feeling Murphy's Law is on the way - everything that could have gone wrong today, went wrong - and this was not our day. We have to learn, we have to reflect, and we have to be very honest with ourselves.

"At the same time, take something from this game and make a very quick check and look forward to the next [game]."