Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has confirmed defender Scott Dann will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his damaged hamstring.
The 23-year-old picked up the injury in the 2-1 Carling Cup semi-final first-leg defeat at West Ham on 11 January.
McLeish said: "You don't want to see your back four disrupted too much but I'm philosophical about these things.
"You've just got to get on with it. "Managers can't legislate for injuries and we've lost a good man."
Dann has formed a key partnership with Roger Johnson at the heart of the Birmingham defence since joining the club from Coventry in June 2009.
Liam Ridgewell will partner Johnson in defence but McLeish also has faith in Cech international Martin Jiranek if required.
He added: "We've got Jiranek here as cover. Martin, although he is untried in the Premier League, is an experienced international.
"If something happens again, then Martin will come in."
Dann has played 25 games this season for the Blues, who are 16th in the Premier League table.
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