Stephen Ireland has had a scan on the hamstring injury he picked up against Wolves and will be out of action for a fortnight.

The midfielder was substituted after 55 minutes at Molineux and was assessed on Tuesday morning.

With this Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Middlesbrough being followed by the Carling Cup derby semi final on Wednesday, City manager Roberto Mancini had hoped to have City’s 2008/09 Player of the Season available for some part of the cup double-header.

The hope now is that Ireland will return for the second leg at Old Trafford on January 19.