Djorkaeff could miss start of season

Last updated : 30 July 2003 By Mark Heys
Bolton Wanderers midfielder Youri Djorkaeff could miss the start of the Premiership season following a suspected fractured cheekbone sustained when scoring Bolton's second goal in their 2-1 friendly win over Birkirkara FC last night in the Floriana Cup held in Malta.

The former French international challenged by a Stripes defender to score suffering a nasty facial injury in the collision and after lengthy treatment the former World Cup winner was taken to a local hospital and could be out for a spell of up to six weeks which could rule him out of the opening game of the season which is a local derby away at Manchester United on August 16.

However Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce was cautious as to predict how long the influential Frenchman could be out for, but depending on how treatment goes, he could be back before the end of August.

"We will continue to monitor Youri's progress today. He will go for further tests so we can assess how long he will be out for. It is difficult to say how long he will need in rehabilitation. It could be two, four or even six weeks." said the Bolton manager

Allardyce added: "Initially we thought he could be out for a while but X-rays show it wasn't as bad as we originally feared."

Meanwhile it was also confirmed defender Nicky Hunt has sustained a muscle tear in the leg. The Bolton born defender was also taken to hospital late in the game and the club are awaiting further tests on the young defender today.