Manchester City FC

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Better news for injured Hart

20 Nov 2008 - 12:38:30

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Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart could return to action within a fortnight despite initial fears that an ankle injury would keep him sidelined for up to a month.

Hart sustained the problem in Sunday's 2-2 draw at Hull City and had to be replaced after only 19 minutes by Kasper Schmeichel.

City boss Mark Hughes has made some encouraging noises about Hart's recovery, saying: "It's likely to be a couple of weeks. It may improve and this type of injury can sometimes improve markedly quite quickly.

"It was a little bit delicate initially because there was a fear that there might have been ligament damage.

"I don't think that's the case. It's a bad strain but he'll be back sooner than we thought - that's the thinking at the moment - but we'll need to wait and see.

"It's unfortunate but over the course of the season you'll get injuries. I thought Kasper came in and did really well. He showed a lot of confidence and settled everybody down after conceding a goal and Joe having to go off.

"He looked very assured and I've no qualms about putting Kasper into the side. He's done it before, and he'll be fine.

"He's a very confident young man and he probably feels a little bit aggrieved that he's not playing anyway because that's the confidence he has in his own ability.

"It won't faze him and his self-confidence is one of his strengths so, to reiterate, I won't have any problem playing Kasper."