Beleaguered York City were today rocked by two devastating injury blows.

It has been confirmed midfielder Christian Fox will be out of action for seven months.

The 19-year-old will have to undergo a complete re-construction of a ligament in a damaged knee, which has plagued him all season.

It is a massive setback for Fox and also for City, espeically paired with the news that fellow midfielder Kevin Hulme is facing a minimum three months on the sidelines after tearing a medial ligament in his knee in Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Barnet.

With Lee Bullock also recovering from a knee injury, City manager Terry Dolan is left with just two senior midfielders to call on - veteran Steve Agnew and Scott Jordan.

The double whammy of losing Fox and Hulme may force a dash into the transfer market with Dolan indicating he will be looking to strengthen the Minstermen's injury-riven engine-room.

A visit to a specialist confirmed the major surgery for Fox, who only played his first full 90 minutes of the season on Boxing Day after undergoing knee surgery to trim damaged cartilage earlier in the season.

City physiotherapist Jeff Miller explained that after the operation Fox's knee was 'clinically stable'. But the the true test would not be known until he actually played.

Four games on and the knee has swollen badly again, so much that Fox's anterior cruciate knee ligament will have to be re-constructed.

Miller said the operation would be done in three weeks once the current swelling had gone down.

Fox is not expected to be back in action again for seven months. His earliest return is forecast for the end of July.

Hulme's absence will be a minimum three months and could take in the rest of the season.

The 33-year-old midfielder's contract is up at the end of this campaign and while he could yet make a competitive return before the season's end, his time on the treatment table could hit his hopes of earning a new deal.

As he surveyed the sorely depleted core of his squad, City boss Dolan sighed: "It has not come at a very good time but it is all part of football and we just have to get on with it."

Dolan has named goal-shy senior front-men Alex Mathie and David McNiven in tonight's reserves' clash against his former club, Huddersfield Town, in the Avon Insurance League Cup (7pm ko).

City reserves: Howarth, Thompson, Reed, Jones, Stamp, Turley, Jordan, Skinner, Hall, Mathie, McNiven. Subs: Collinson, Hocking, Wood, Emmerson, Rhodes.

Updated: 14:17 Wednesday, January 17, 2001