Johnson has struggled with injuries during his time at City

Manchester City midfielder Michael Johnson has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

The 21-year-old was hurt in training earlier this week. He is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair cruciate ligament damage on Monday.

He had only recently returned to City's squad after missing almost a year of action with an abdominal problem.

Manager Mark Hughes said: "His season is over. It's really disappointing news for him and for the club."

Johnson, who has represented England Under-21s, has played 45 times for City but his career has been hampered by a series of injuries.

Of his latest, Hughes said: "It was an innocuous situation, his foot just got caught in the turf.

606: DEBATE I was praying that this season he would have been back as he has so much promise, possibly the most complete midfielder at the club. Feel for the guy Irelands_ninjas

"These things happen but there is significant damage. Michael had worked hard to get back to a level where I was considering him for games.

"He was very much in my thoughts with Christmas coming up.

"It is going to be a difficult time for him but he has shown in the past real strength of character."

Since recovering from his long-term abdominal problem, he has made two appearances for City this season and scored against Scunthorpe in his side's 5-1 defeat of Scunthorpe in the Carling Cup.

Hughes had included Johnson on the bench in recent games, but his only Premier League action this season was as a 89th-minute replacement for Gareth Barry in City's 3-1 win over West Ham in August.

Johnson is a product of City's Academy and was captain of the team that finished runners-up in the 2006 FA Youth Cup.

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