Manju fractures his toe, out of Nehru Cup

New Delhi: India defender NS Manju will be out of the remaining matches of the Nehru Cup as he suffered a fracture on his left toe during India`s 0-1 loss to Lebanon in the tournament opener. The left-back player sustained the injury in the second session of the match last night and was replaced by Mahesh Gawli in the 57th minute. "X-ray examination showed his left toe has been fractured and his left foot is now on heavy bandage. He won`t able to take field for at least four weeks," a team source said. The injury will also mean that Mohun Bagan will miss Manju`s services for the August 28-September 10 IFA Shield in Kolkata.Manju`s injury is also bad news for India, which is coping with the disappointing loss against Lebanon. The other left-back, Sameer Naik, had a hamstring problem just a few days ago and Gawli, who normally plays in central defence, replaced Manju yesterday. Meanwhile, the Ambedkar Stadium groundsmen have not got any specific request from the All India Football Federation to cut the grass on the pitch, which had made Houghton livid yesterday. Houghton had said that the heavy grass on the pitch had given the taller and stronger Lebanese advantage as his boys could not play their usual ground passes. Bureau Report