The Blues' boss didn't rule out or rule in a plunge into the top end of the transfer market for a new face to replace the sidelined Zimbabwe international skipper but is clearly concerned that he will be without two key strikers for the first month of the season.

Record signing Jo is already on his way to join up with the Brazilian Olympic soccer team that is hot favourite to win gold at the Beijing Games.

The £19m hitman will, in all likelihood, not be back until the start of September leaving a philosophical Hughes to ponder fresh combinations.

"Benjani was just taking a shot on goal during training and unfortunately damaged his thigh muscle quite high up and quite badly," he confirmed.

"The medical staff here feels it will be well into the league season before he is back. He will have to wait for the muscle to heal and then after that it is a case of waiting for the strength to come back and that needs a lot of work.

"It is a big disappointment for the lad after his end to last season when he got amongst the goals. He wanted to hit the ground running and it is a disappointment for me too because I was looking forward to seeing him play.

"These things happen and unfortunately in pre-season invariably a squad picks up injuries. You just hope that they are slight and easy to get over but this isn't, it is a little bit more than that.

"From a position where we were quite strong in terms of bodies (ndash) and had a lot of forward-thinking bodies (ndash) we might over the next few weeks now be shorter than we thought we were going to be. We will have to have a look at that and make sure the balance of the squad is right."

Darius Vassell, Ched Evans, Danny Sturridge and Felipe Caicedo are the men currently fit and available and without questions marks against their City futures.

Italian pair Rolando Bianchi and Bernardo Corradi continue to train with the Blues but both could yet be subject to transfers back to Serie A that would help pay for a new arrival.

It is youngsters Evans and Sturridge (ndash) on the mark for the England under 19 side this week and with a Premier League goal already under his belt (ndash) who may find themselves in the spotlight in the near future.

"I would like to involve Daniel as soon as possible because he didn't have a lot of training with us in Germany because he was injured and then had to leave to play for England," noted Hughes.

"I hope that he will be involved in the weekend game in Hamburg. It will be another opportunity for him to show what he can do.

"We will always try and encourage young players and bring them through I go back again to Ched Evans who has had an impressive pre-season so far. It is up to them to work hard, train hard, catch my eye and then take their opportunities when they come along."