Birmingham defender Neal Eardley ruled out for the season
Friday 15 January 2016 14:06, UK
Birmingham defender Neal Eardley has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury.
The 27-year-old came off at half-time during Blues' 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Bournemouth last week and scans have shown the severity of the problem to his left knee.
Boss Gary Rowett told the Birmingham Mail: "It's heartbreaking for the lad at the moment. Every time he seems to get an innocuous bang in a game you almost fear the worst, he seems to be the unluckiest player going.
"My heart goes out to him. That's the different side to it, we are talking about winning games, bringing players in but sometimes someone in your squad gets a bit of bad news like that and it's about sticking together and helping him through it."
Eardley has already suffered injury issues this season having dislocated his shoulder in September.
It is the second serious knee problem the former Blackpool man has suffered after he damaged his anterior cruciate ligament in 2013, just seven games into his Birmingham career, forcing him to miss the rest of the 2013-14 season.
Right-back Eardley has played eight times for Rowett's Sky Bet Championship side this season - who go to Derby on Saturday - but has only made 21 appearances since joining from Blackpool and his contract expires at the end of the campaign.
