Hughes eyes keeper cover

City boss looking to bring in shot-stopper on loan

Last updated: 20th November 2008

Hughes eyes keeper cover

Hart: On the sidelines

We'll see who's available and see if it's worthwhile bringing anybody in.

Hughes on Hart cover
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Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has confirmed he has been given the green light to bring in cover for injured keeper Joe Hart.

First-choice shot-stopper Hart is set for at least two weeks on the sidelines after injuring his ankle in last weekend's 2-2 draw with Hull City.

Kasper Schmeichel is set to replace Hart between the sticks for City, while Hughes' third-choice keeper Richard Martin is also out of action.

In order to provide Schmeichel with cover in the coming weeks, the City boss has confirmed he is now looking to bolster his ranks after being given dispensation by the Premier League to sign a keeper on loan outside the transfer window.

Permission

"We have been given permission to bring in a goalkeeper on loan so we'll see what's out there," explained the former Blackburn boss.

"It would be just a short-term situation to cover us for a couple of games. We'll see who's available and see if it's worthwhile bringing anybody in."

It had been feared Hart could be out of action for at least a month so Hughes has been boosted by the news he will be available sooner than expected.

Hughes added: "He's likely to be out for a minimum of two weeks but when the injury first occurred we thought it was going to be substantially longer than that.

"Thankfully it's not as bad as we first thought because we did initially think it was ligament damage. That's not the case, so he will be back sooner than we feared, which is good news."