Nafti could miss entire season
Steve Bruce has revealed Birmingham midfielder Mehdi Nafti is likely to miss the whole season through injury.
The Blues boss Bruce claims his team have suffered injuries like “no other Premiership club” over the last 12 months after Tunisian Nafti was ruled out for the long term with a serious knee injury.
Nafti was yesterday ruled out for “several months” according to the club after a scan revealed a torn cruciate ligament suffered during a friendly against Deportivo La Coruna last weekend. However, Bruce admitted the player is unlikely to feature this season.
Nafti, 26, joined the St Andrews outfit on a permanent deal after spending the second half of last season on loan from Racing Santander.
“It is a terrible blow for Mehdi and we all feel for him,” said Bruce. “He was looking really good in pre-season. We just wish him all the best and hope that he can have a speedy recovery.
“It seemed an innocuous challenge and we thought he’d got away with it - after all, he was able to walk onto the plane on Monday,” Bruce told the club’s website, bcfc.com.
“As for whether he’s out for the season, you would have to think so. We have to look at our options as regards replacements, which is difficult as we’ve only just heard the news and I haven’t even thought about it yet.”
Birmingham’s season was derailed last year when Mikael Forssell, Muzzy Izzet, David Dunn and Stan Lazaridis all suffered serious injuries.
“It sums up the last 12 months for us. Nobody has suffered long-term injuries the way we have, after the way we lost Mikael Forssell, Muzzy Izzet, Dunny and Stan Lazaridis last season.
“With Mehdi now, no other Premiership club have suffered five major injuries like that.
