Injured Benjani to miss first two games of new season

Injured Benjani to miss first two games of new season

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By Mduduzi Mathuthu

MANCHESTER City striker and Zimbabwe captain Benjani Mwaruwari will miss the first two games of the 2008/09 English Premier League through injury, but expects to return to action for City’s visit to Sunderland on August 31.

Mwaruwari, City’s £9,7 million capture from Portsmouth, was given 10 days off by new City manager Mark Hughes after pulling a thigh muscle on his return to pre-season training last week.

The striker went home to recuperate and was expected back in England on Wednesday this week.

Benjani told New Zimbabwe.com he had been rushed back to training after spending most of the off-season with the Zimbabwe national team.

“I never got a chance to properly rest. Other teams gave their players who had international commitments a bit more time to come back, but it was all fast and furious on the first day of training for City. The price of course is that I will now miss the start of the season,” said Benjani, who scored 15 league goals last season.

Benjani expects to miss City’s opening game away to Aston Villa on August 17 and the home tie with West Ham on August 24. But the striker will declare himself fit to face Sunderland.

Benjani’s injury has left Hughes short on strikers after the club's record signing, Jo, joined up with the Brazil squad ahead of the Beijing Olympics, while Bernado Corradi and Rolando Bianchi are expected to depart Eastlands this summer.

That means that Darius Vassell, who has been utilised more as a winger in recent times, and Valeri Bojinov, who missed most of last season through injury, are Hughes' only senior strikers.

Hughes said of Benjani’s injury: “It's a big disappointment for me, but also for the lad himself because he was hoping to hit the ground running.

"Benjani ended last season quite well, and it is a shame but these things happen. You will always pick up injuries in pre-season, you hope that they will be slight ones that players can get over, but unfortunately this is a little bit more than that.”

UK media reports have linked Hughes with moves for West Ham's Craig Bellamy, Blackburn's Roque Santa Cruz and a loan move for Marseille's Djibril Cisse.
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