Manchester City defender Ben Thatcher has been ruled out for three months following complications that arose as a result of his recent ankle operation. City boss Kevin Keegan had anticipated Thatcher, 28, would only be out for a month, but the Welsh full-back will be unvailable until well into next year.
"Ben will be out for three months," Keegan confirmed on City's website.
"When they operated on the ankle, they found another problem in there which they had to clean up," he explained.
The news is a blow to Thatcher, who arrived from Leicester in the summer and had helped strengthen City's previously weak defence.
The injury also leaves Keegan with just two left-sided players in his squad, defensive duo Sylvain Distin and Stephen Jordan, as Sun Jihai and Trevor Sinclair have already been ruled out for the season.
Keegan added: "We have not got a left winger or a left-sided midfielder.
"Now we are mixing and matching, so we don't always have a great shape.
"But as long as the spirit is good and players do the job they are asked to do, we can keep getting away with it and maybe even surprise a few people too."
MMIX
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