Dunn struck down again

David Dunn's injury jinx has struck again with the Birmingham midfielder ruled out for the remainder for the season.

Dunn, signed from Blackburn for a club record £5.5million last summer, has been dogged by a hamstring setback for the second half of the campaign.

He impressed on his comeback against Arsenal at Highbury last weekend but has suffered a reaction and will not feature in Saturday's home clash with Liverpool or the Blackburn game the following weekend.

Birmingham manager Steve Bruce admitted that the club had "gone down every route" to try and get to the root of the problem.

Now he is hoping that rest and rehabilitation work - Dunn will report back ahead of his team-mates after the summer break - will do the trick for the former England Under-21 captain.

Bruce said: "It's a darn shame because I know he wants to play against Blackburn. I also know there are places to play for in the Premiership, and huge money available for every one, but I can't risk him being injured for the summer.

"He has had a bit of a reaction after the Arsenal game and I blame myself to an extent because I probably left him on the pitch too long but he was such a threat in the first half.

"David has done the hamstring three times and we've done everything we possibly can. We've gone down every route.

"It is certainly not like it was but the reaction to it after Saturday means something is still not quite right.

"But we are pretty sure if he rests it in the summer and does extra rehab then he will be fine for pre-season."