Brum hit by striker blow

28/09/2007 13:22, Report by Steve Bartram

Birmingham striker Mikael Forssell will miss Saturday's visit of United after deciding to undergo surgery on a hernia.

The Finnish international, who has overcome a long battle with knee injuries, will undergo an operation next week to cure his latest problem.

Birmingham manager Steve Bruce said: "Mikael will go into hospital on Monday. It looks like he has got a hernia problem and we will do something about it as quickly as we can.

"He will miss the Manchester United and Blackburn games but, with the two-week international break coming up soon, hopefully he will be back available after that. These things usually take three to four weeks.

"You feel sorry for the lad because he has had so many knock backs in recent years but kept persevering."

Forssell's absence is a second injury blow in a week for Bruce's side, who lost Borja Oubina to a serious knee injury at Anfield last weekend.