Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has confirmed he is likely to try and sign a new defender in January to compensate for the loss of Joleon Lescott to knee surgery and Kolo Toure to the African Nations Cup (Man City 4/9 draw 13/5 Sunderland 6/1 match bets).

Hughes, speaking after the 3-0 Premier League defeat by Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Wednesday, revealed 27-year-old Lescott underwent an operation at the beginning of the week to remove floating bone.

The England international is expected to miss the Carling Cup semi-final first-leg against cross-city rivals United at Eastlands on January 6 (Man City 9/4 Carling Cup – Outright).

Hughes will also be missing fellow first-choice centre-back Toure when he leaves for the African Nations Cup in January.

“We’ve lost Joleon for six to eight weeks, that is a big loss to us and comes on the back of losing Kolo Toure for the African Nations Cup,” he said.

“So it doesn’t leave much thinking about in terms of what we probably need in January.”

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