Better news for injured Hart
20 Nov 2008 - 12:38:30
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."