Football Corner

Birmingham have today found out that their Dutch defender Mario Melchiot is almost certain to be unavailable for the busy Christmas period. The Birmingham City defender has been speaking to the media in Holland and revealed his frustration at the injury niggles that are affecting his progress. "I gave a normal pass and felt directly that something ripped," he told Voetbal International."I am very disappointed.

"The team needs me at this difficult time."I haven't had such a series of injuries in my whole career."The 29-year-old will be hoping the problem is not too serious as the Midlands outfit look to build on Saturday's win over Fulham. However, Dutch sources claim the injury will sideline Melchiot for up to six weeks.

This isn't the best new for Birmingham boss Steve Bruce as his side have had a very bad spell of form of late and just got their first win for several weeks, and now they get the news that one of their key players is injured. Melchiot has been a key player for Birmingham ever since joining the club last season from Chelsea, and this will be a big blow for the midlands club.