Manchester City suffer new Petrov blow

Manchester City's Martin Petrov faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering knee ligament damage playing in Bulgaria's draw against Georgia.

City boss Mark Hughes said: "Martin is going to see a couple more specialists.

"But the view is, he has a significant injury and could be out of action for quite some time."

Hughes expects Robinho to be fit to face Newcastle on Monday after suffering a dead leg playing for Brazil against Colombia.

But he is not so optimistic about Petrov's immediate prospects, saying: "He has ligament damage and the initial scans do not look good."

Petrov had only just returned to the City side after a hamstring injury and Hughes added: "Martin had 10 minutes in one game and 20 minutes in another before going to play his country.

"It is a big ask for players and they are at risk on occasions if they have not had the required time on the pitch beforehand."

Robinho is scheduled to report back to City on Friday, and Hughes said: "We have heard nothing from their medical department, so we are assuming he is fit and well.

"We have seen the incident where he had the injury and had to come off. It does not look like a significant injury, just a clash."