Isaac Vassell: Birmingham City striker may miss rest of Blues season

Making only his third league start for Birmingham City on Sunday, Isaac Vassell was injured following a collision with Aston Villa's Alan Hutton

Birmingham City striker Isaac Vassell may be forced to miss the rest of the Championship season with a ruptured anterior cruciate knee ligament injury.

The 24-year-old former Plymouth Argyle, Truro City and Luton Town man sustained the injury in Sunday's 0-0 draw with Aston Villa at St Andrew's.

"Isaac is a blow to us," Birmingham boss Steve Cotterill told BBC WM.

"It's not good for Isaac. It's not good for the club. He has ruptured a cruciate ligament."

Vassell has so far scored once for Blues, the winner against Sheffield Wednesday on 27 September - City's final game under caretaker boss Lee Carsley before Cotterill took charge.

After an expected operation on Wednesday, he now faces a battle to be back before the end of the season.

"He is a young player I was really working with," said Cotterill. "The worst thing is that these things always happen to the good lads. He is an absolute joy.

"By the end of the season it would have been a good learning curve for him going on in his career. That learning is put back six months.

"It leaves us with two centre-forwards, in Lukas Jutkiewicz and Che Adams. It may force us to use Sam Gallagher up there and I see him as being better out wide."

Ahead of Wednesday's home game with Brentford, Blues are 21st in the Championship table, having so far picked up four points under Cotterill.