Birmingham defender David Murphy faces an uncertain future on the sidelines and may require further surgery after suffering a setback to his recovery from a broken kneecap.

The left-back has already been out for seven months and must now be re-assessed by medical experts to determine whether he has to undergo another operation.

Blues boss Alex McLeish has been left despondent by the prolonged absence of his £1.5million buy from Hearts in January 2008.

The manager said: “We are disappointed at the lack of progress by David. He was coming back and looking good but he has had another little setback.

“We are going to have to get him re-assessed for the lad’s sake as well as anything else. He is really, really desperate to get back playing again. He is such a good professional and seven months out is a long time.

“Will he need more surgery? I don’t know. He has got pins in his knees and, if these have to be taken out, then it will require a bit of surgery.

“It is a shame for David because he is really down at the moment and we are doing what we can to keep his morale up.”