BOLTON Wanderers have been dealt a stunning blow with news that Ivan Campo could be out for two months with a broken foot.
The Spaniard is the latest victim of an injury plague that has caused Sam Allardyce selection headaches at a time when he is having to cope with Premiership and European commitments.
Campo suffered the injury in training on Monday and subsequent X-rays showed that he had fractured a metatarsal - the type of injury that has sidelined Roy Keane at Manchester United.
"He could be out for six to eight weeks,"Allardyce said.
"He ran into a tackle in training, got caught and broke his foot - and thats something we could well have done without at this stage.
For Campo it is his second unfortunate setback in successive seasons following the facial injury he suffered a year ago in an accidental collision with teammate, Gary Speed. And for Wanderers it takes to eight the number of players who have been sidelined for one game or more since they kicked off potentially their most demanding season ever on August 13.
Jay Jay Okocha, Abdoulaye Faye and Fabrice Fernandes are currently in the treatment room while Ricardo Gardner, Radhi Jaidi, Tal Ben Haim and Gary Speed have previously been sidelined. Kevin Davies and Jussi Jaaskelainen have also been nursing injuries.
"You cant legislate for what happened to Ivan, but weve had more strains and pulls than normal and thats not what we want with a squad like ours,"Alllardyce added. "But I suppose we couldnt have another season like the last one, when we hardly had any injuries.
"Its just as well that weve had players like Henrik Pedersen doing as well as he has. I dont know what wed have done without him when Ricky Gardner was injured.
Hidetoshi Nakata, who had an impressive 45-minute run in the Reserves on Monday, could be in the running for his first Premiership start against Portsmouth, if Faye or Okocha are ruled out.
Despite his staffing problems, Allardyce is unlikely to pursue his interest in the Portuguese international full-back, Rui Jorge.
He has had talks with the 32-year-old defender, who is available on a free transfer after failing to agree a new contract at Sporting Lisbon, but is not convinced his addition would enhance his Premiership squad.
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