Lisav Eissat's first appearance in a Bristol City shirt lasted barely eight minutes. The defender, unveiled by the Championship club only a week earlier, was forced off early in Friday's pre-season friendly against Stockport County at the Robins' training camp in Alicante. The afternoon soured further as his new side slipped to a 2-0 defeat.
Bristol City confirmed Eissat's arrival from Maccabi Haifa on 10 July on a four-year contract, with the fee officially undisclosed. Israeli reports have put the figure at between €2.2 million and €2.5 million, and say Haifa negotiated a sell-on percentage as well as a bonus should the Robins win promotion to the Premier League.
The club has not yet said what the injury is. Israeli reports indicated Bristol City were awaiting the results of medical checks, with one account describing a blow to the head that required his substitution. The same coverage suggested early signs pointed to nothing serious, though no timescale for his return has been given.
Eissat, 21, joined Maccabi Haifa as a small boy and worked his way through the academy before a season-long loan at Hapoel Hadera hardened him for senior football.
Back at Haifa in 2025-26, the centre-back became a regular, making 33 appearances across the league, cup and Conference League qualifying, scoring once and adding two assists, according to Israeli reports.
His fitness will now be monitored in two countries. Born and raised in Israel, Eissat represented the country at youth level from under-15 through to a single under-21 cap, but chose to play his senior international football for Romania, the country of his mother. He made his Romania debut in October 2025 and has since collected four caps.
Eissat is the fifth signing of Bristol City's summer under new head coach Michael Skubala, following Jed Wallace, Gibson Yah, Sam Greenwood and Sam Tickle, as the club reshapes a squad that fell short of expectations last season. The Alicante camp, which began on 12 July, was intended to give the newcomers minutes together before the Championship campaign.
For Eissat, the setback is an unwelcome pause rather than, on current information, anything worse. The defender left the pitch in Spain with his new supporters still waiting for a proper first look at him, and Bristol City will hope the scans allow him to rejoin preparations quickly enough to fight for a place in their opening-day side.
