Nahki Wells’s hopes of returning to the Premier League were dealt a potentially fatal blow on Thursday.

Wells’s Bristol City side were beaten 3-0 by Sheffield United in the Sky Bet Championship semi-final first leg at Ashton Gate, with the Bermudian forward replaced at half-time as coach Liam Manning was forced into a tactical reshuffle after central defender Rob Dickie was sent off.

Despite City rattling the crossbar through Joe Williams in the first half, they were outplayed for much of the match and were fortunate not to go behind early in the game when the assistant referee’s flag was raised to rule out a goal by Tyrese Campbell.

With no VAR in use during the match, the decision stood despite replays seeming to show the decision was incorrect.

Wells was a peripheral figure for much of his time on the pitch and was bereft of service but still showed some nice touches, notably when producing a fine bit of skill on the touchline.

The game’s turning point came in the second minute of additional time at the end of the first half when the referee pointed to the penalty spot after City defender Dickie wrapped his arms around Sheffield United striker Kieffer Moore and pulled him to the ground.

Harrison Burrows made it a double punishment for City after sending goalkeeper Max O’Leary the wrong way to give Sheffield United the lead.

City coach Manning replaced Wells and Japanese wing back Yu Hirakawa at the interval in the hope of clinging to the narrowest defeat possible, but further goals from United substitutes Andre Brooks and Callum O’Hare look to have put the tie beyond City’s grasp.

Manning was disappointed with the result and feels the red card was harsh on his player

"I just feel a bit for everyone associated with the club,“ he said.

“Credit to Sheffield United, they still have to do a job when we go down to ten men and you just have to look at their bench, with all of them walking into most Championship teams.

“Up to the red I thought it was a good game, they had some good moments on counter-attack and the whole game has changed because of a major error.

“For me, you're waiting for contact and there is but a red card should only be given when there is no intention to play the ball — and Rob plays the ball.

“So how can there be no intention when he plays the ball? We flagged concerns about the referee’s performance level. He's given previous reds that are incorrect and that's another one tonight.”