Robinho blow piles pressure on City boss

MANCHESTER City manager Mark Hughes is a man under pressure following a series of disappointing results in the Premier League which have seen his side plunge to fourth from bottom.

And his mood will hardly have improved following last night’s injury to star striker Robinho during City’s 3-1 defeat at Racing Santander in the UEFA Cup.

Despite this defeat, City finished top of their group to progress to the knock-out stages, but the Premier League remains their top priority and Robinho’s absence in Sunday’s crucial fixture at West Brom would be a huge blow.

Robinho made a surprise start for City, but played only 45 minutes as he was struggling with a recurring ankle problem.

Hughes said: "Robinho was not able to continue so he is a big doubt for the weekend. It it his ankle again.

"He has made a great impression on everyone in Manchester, scoring eight goals in the Premier League. We are delighted with his impact.

"In the last three games he has been struggling with an injury and that was again a concern to him.”

There are even suggestions that Robinho could miss City’s entire Christmas programme.

And his absence could heap even more pressure on a City side who, despite their riches, are staring at a relegation battle.

Indeed, should Sunderland pick up a point or more at Hull City tomorrow, then City will find themselves in the bottom three when they arrive at The Hawthorns.

And despite continued assurances from above that manager Hughes’ job is not under threat, he is sure to be feeling the heat.

The club’s new wealthy owners from Abu Dhabi must be concerned about the plight of a club they bought for £210million in August.

City have won only one of their last eight Premier League matches, a sequence which wasn’t in the script when Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan took charge with the pledge of making City a world power.

Bottom club West Brom made an encouraging start to the season after winning promotion.

They were eighth with 10 points in early October, but have not won in the Premier League for over two and a half months and their last 10 fixtures have yielded only two points.

And the Baggies have suffered a major injury blow with striker Isthmael Miller out for the season after sustaining a cruciate knee ligament injury.