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Nasri injured, may not play

Comment: 0 September 8th, 2011 by: admin

SAMIR Nasri is injured and will be a doubtful starter for Manchester City’s next assignment.

Nasri broke a bone in his left hand while on international duty for France recently, causing concerns that he may miss his Premier League home debut for City this weekend.

To ease fans’ anxiety, however, Nasri will be fitted with a protective cast so he can see action when City battle Wigan Athletic at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

The wily 24-year-old playmaker incurred the injury in his 15-minute appearance as substitute during France’s scoreless standoff with Romania in the Euro 2012 qualifiers on Tuesday.

Nasri did finish the game after the injured hand was sprayed with pain killer and he was seen leaving the stadium with a cast on it.

Upon his return to Manchester, he was rushed to a private hospital for an X-ray and results indicated he had a metacarpal fracture.

The 24-million pound signing from Arsenal debuted for City in their 5-1 demolition of Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane last August 28 during which he showed his value by providing three assists.

Prior to the Romania fixture, he saw action the full 90 minutes in France’s 2-1 away win over Albania in their Euro 2012 qualifier before plunging to action against Romania.

If Nasri is unable to play against the Latics, he could also miss City’s Champions League opener against Napoli.

Meanwhile, midfielder Nigel de Jong will miss Saturday’s game due to a foot injury, while former skipper Carlos Tevez may make his first start this season.

In another development, defender Kolo Toure’s return to competitive action for City may have to wait for a while. His six-month suspension for taking a prohibited drug is over but he needs to regain his form.

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