James Wilson has joined Cheltenham on an initial one month loan and Ryan Inniss has returned to Palace.
Bristol City defender James Wilson has joined Cheltenham Town on an initial one month loan this afternoon.Mark Yates was quick to agree the loan deal with Bristol City manager Sean O'Driscoll and it follows the news that Ryan Inniss has now returned to Crystal Palace through injury.
James, 24, is a former Wales U21 international and has Championship experience with his parent club but City were keen for James to get game time and Cheltenham have moved quickly to strengthen the backline.
"We're delighted to have brought James in," said Mark.
"Bristol City have been fantastic. He is a player I have tried to bring in a few times but haven't been able too due to him being close to the first team so it's great to have him here and he'll go straight into the team. I'm happy with that."
"It has been a strange week and we have had a number of knocks to defenders and it was important for us to move quickly with Ryan being out for a number of weeks. I feel for Ryan because he is a good young player but the situation at the minute is that we need as many fit as we can with Troy (Brown) and Craig (Braham-Barrett) out. We will probably only have 5 or 6 on the bench tomorrow and I have lack of defensive cover so I have moved quickly."
James is a product of the Bristol City Academy and he has made 35 appearances in all competitions for the Ashton Gate outfit. During his time with City he has played at Championship level but his best form has perhaps come as a loanee at Brentford in League One.
He joined the Bees in 2008 on a first loan spell and made 16 appearances before heading back to Ashton Gate. He enjoyed a second loan spell at Griffin Park between August and December 2009 where he made 14 appearances.
James has yet to feature for City this season and he admitted the chance to come on loan to Mark Yates' Cheltenham was an opportunity he needed to take.
"I'm looking forward to my time here," explained James.
"I needed to come out and play first team football. It's not working out for me at Bristol City right now so I just want the chance to play again. Cheltenham Town is a good club and they have been close (to promotion) in the last few seasons so it is a good place to be."
James will be available to play Oxford United here at the Abbey Business Stadium tomorrow afternoon and his first interview as a Cheltenham Town player will be available exclusively on YouTube and Robins Player shortly.