Oubina renews Bruce's injury blues

Birmingham City's worst fears have been confirmed after their on-loan midfielder Oubina was ruled out for at least six months with knee ligament damage yesterday.

Oubina, on a season-long loan from Celta Vigo, suffered the injury in an innocuous-looking challenge from the Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa after 13 minutes of his City debut at Anfield on Saturday.

The 25-year-old had an MRI scan, which has revealed damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, tibial collateral ligament and medial ligament. He will be out of action until at least March and is now back in Spain having treatment.

Birmingham's manager, Steve Bruce, said: "It is a bitter blow for us – but more importantly, for the lad himself. He is a very good player and to have his season cut short like this is tragic."

Bruce has been dogged by injuries to key midfielders, including David Dunn and Muzzy Izzet, during his spell in charge of St Andrew's. He had turned to Oubina to provide midfield creativity after failing to sign Mathieu Flamini and Hossam Ghaly.

Oubina said: "This is terrible because I arrived in the Premier League with much anticipation. I wanted to demonstrate I would be able to play at that level. From the moment I got the injury, I feared the worst."