City's Bischoff out

Manchester City defender Mikkel Bischoff has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

The young Dane, signed by Kevin Keegan for £1.5m (€2.2m) from AB Copenhagen two years ago, has been plagued by foot problems since joining the Blues and has been restricted to just a single first-team appearance this term.

“Mikkel is out for the season,” Keegan confirmed to www.mcfc.co.uk.

“It’s not just the foot. It has been all sorts of injuries – nothing major just lots of niggly things.”

Meanwhile, midfielder Steve McManaman is doubtful for Saturday’s Eastlands encounter with Champions League hopefuls Newcastle.

The former England winger limped out of the 3-1 home defeat to Southampton a fortnight ago after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury and missed last weekend’s stormy clash with Leicester.

A slower than anticipated recovery means McManaman is unlikely to face the Magpies. But defender Richard Dunne is again expected to be available even though he is struggling with a long-standing hernia problem.

While Leeds’ loss to Portsmouth has given City some much-needed breathing space in their battle to avoid the drop, Keegan knows defeat to his old club will offer the struggling Yorkshire outfit renewed hope of avoiding a descent to the Nationwide League.