Birmingham City forward
Obafemi Martins out for the
season
Birmingham City forward
Obafemi Martins has been ruled
out for the remainder of the
season after undergoing
surgery on Thursday to repair a
stress fracture.
The former Inter striker, who is on
loan at Birmingham from Rubin
Kazan, has not played for the club
since March.
Blues manager Alex McLeish told the
club's official website: "It's a blow for
Oba and very frustrating for him
and us, we all wish him a quick
recovery."
The former Rangers boss also
explained Martins' injury-hit spell at
the club since arriving on loan in
January, adding: "He passed his
medical and everything was fine for
six weeks, but then it became
obvious to us that something
wasn't right.
"The head of our medical
department, Dr Ian McGuiness,
carried out extensive tests and the
stress fracture was diagnosed."
The Scot was particularly frustrated
that the Midlands club have yet to
see the best of the Nigerian since his
arrival, despite his League Cup-
winning goal against Arsenal.
He said: "It's a shame we haven't
seen Oba at his very best.
"We brought him here in the hope
that he could help the team and, of
course, we all know what he did in
the Carling Cup final."