Hughes starts search for Hart replacement

AFP - 20 November 2008 13:40

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes, seen here has been given the green light to sign a temporary replacement for injured England goalkeeper Joe Hart, seen here in August 2008,

MANCHESTER (AFP) - Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has been given the green light to sign a temporary replacement for injured England goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Hart will be out of action for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered at Hull last weekend, while third-choice City keeper Richard Martin is also injured.

That leaves Hughes with Kasper Schmeichel and untried 18-year-old Norwegian Tobias Johansen as his only fit keepers going into crucial matches against Arsenal, Schalke and Manchester United.

Hughes appealed to the Premier League for dispensation to sign a keeper on loan outside the transfer window and his plea was granted.

"We have been given permission to bring in a goalkeeper on loan so we'll see what's out there," he said.

"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."

With City stuttering in the Premier League, Hughes is keen to add some experienced back-up for Schmeichel, but admits the situation is not as serious as it might have been after Hart limped away from Hull on crutches.

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."