City´s Hamann out for months with toe injury

Manchester City’s Dietmar Hamann faces a lay-off of up to three months with a suspected ruptured tendon in one of his toes, the club’s manager Mark Hughes revealed Tuesday.

The former Liverpool and Germany midfielder suffered the injury in training on Monday and has flown to Switzerland for treatment.

Hughes said: “Didi kicked a ball in training yesterday with the end of a toe, and unfortunately it looks like he may have ruptured a tendon.

“He will go over to Zurich today to see a surgeon that he has seen with a similar injury before. The feeling is that it is the same thing that has happened before.”

Speaking to www.mcfc.co.uk, Hughes added: “The best case scenario is that it will be nine weeks, but it could be 12. Obviously it is a blow for Didi but we are a bit light in midfield areas so we could have done without this.”

City are already without long-term injury victims Michael Johnson and Martin Petrov while Stephen Ireland is suspended for Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Wigan, which would have given the 35-year-old Hamann a good chance of starting.

Hughes could now decide to increase his offer for West Ham midfielder Scott Parker, for whom he has already made at least one unsuccessful bid.