Sierra Leonean striker Mohammed Kallon has been told he will miss out the next 40 days of action after suffering a thigh strain

The news means he will miss out on Sierra Leone's first match of their 2004 African Nations Cup qualifying campaign, against Equatorial Guinea on 8 September.

He should, however, have recovered for the Leone Stars' second qualifier, against Gabon on 13 October.

But at club level Kallon may miss out for much longer than the month that he is injured.

His side Inter Milan are now facing a major shortage of front men - Ronaldo has declared he will not play for the team ever again, while Christian Vieri is also sidelined with an ankle injury - meaning that Inter president Massimi Moratti is attempting to bring in Lazio's Argentinian striker Hernan Crespo.

The signing of Crespo would then become a major obstacle in Kallon's path as the Argentine would most likely form a front pairing with Vieri, Inter's top scorer last season.

Kallon does, however, have some extra time to recover because the start of the Italian league has been put back two weeks because of a dispute over money.