Bellamy looks likely to miss remainder of City's season

Ken Gaunt
Wednesday 22 April 2009 00:00 BST
Comments
(GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Manchester City manager, Mark Hughes, has confirmed that striker Craig Bellamy is almost certainly out for the rest of the season because of a knee injury. Bellamy, who arrived from West Ham in January, had missed the last three matches after suffering the setback during the Uefa Cup quarter-final first-leg defeat at Hamburg 13 days ago.

Hughes said: "Craig has got to have complete rest for two weeks, then he comes back for strength work. Hopefully, he might get the last couple of games, but the probability is he won't."

Bellamy's absence is a blow for Hughes as his side are anxious to win the battle for seventh place in the Premier League and claim a spot in the Europa League, which will replace the Uefa Cup next season. The 29-year-old, who had problems with the knee on international duty with Wales last month, settled in quickly at Eastlands, scoring five goals in 10 starts.

There was better news regarding the fitness of the Bulgaria striker Valeri Bojinov, who is expected to play for the reserves tonight at Middlesbrough after being left out of the squad for the 4-2 league victory against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

Hughes said: "He needs more physical work and we're hoping he comes through at Middlesbrough to be available at the weekend," when City visit Everton.

Shaun Wright-Phillips is still struggling to recover from the ankle damage that has ruled him out of the last three games. "He had a bang on the bone and it's still sore but the scan was positive," Hughes said. "Once the swelling in and around the injury has settled then, hopefully, he'll be an option again."

Pablo Zabaleta's hamstring injury is also cause for concern, with Hughes admitting: "We've probably lost him for a number of games."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in