Mark Hughes has confirmed that left-back Wayne Bridge is set to be sidelined for at least a fortnight after the defender was stretchered off in the 2-1 win over Chelsea yesterday.

“Wayne has opened up his medial ligaments, it could be a couple of weeks for him but we hope it’s nothing more serious.”

Bridge is now set to miss the trips to Bolton and Spurs, as well as the home game with Sunderland. Hughes has options at left-back, with Sylvinho the most obvious replacement, although Onuoha is in contention too. Kompany could also come into the side, possibly in central defence with Lescott an option at full-back…

Bridge is currently the most popular member of the City defence in the Fantasy Premier League game with just over 6% ownership. Expect heavy sales this gameweek then.

There are a couple of considerations here. His absence could present us with some cheaper short-term options, although it must be said that Hughes’ side have kept just 1 clean sheet in the last 11 league games. It will also be interesting to see if Bridge regains his start on return from injury. He has been far from convincing in recent weeks and if City improve defensively in the next fortnight, he may struggle.

Micah Richard’s was also subbed with an injury yesterday. Hughes has confirmed that he is suffering from recurring knee problems – a minor issue which shouldn’t keep him out of action.

“Micah gets discomfort in his knee on occasions…his cartilage can nip him at times. If he twists his knee in a certain direction it compromises him, so if that happens he has to come off. Hopefully that will settle down.”

There are also unconfirmed reports today suggesting that Gareth Barry is set to undergo an operation on a troublesome groin injury. Barry has been suffering the injury for a series of weeks and it is reported that City medical staff are now considering surgery as an option to clear up the problem once and for all.