Bristol City star Fontaine faces a long spell on the sidelines

Bristol City defender Liam Fontaine will be out of action for at least the next three weeks.

A hospital scan has revealed the damage the Londoner sustained to his ankle when tackled during the recent Coca-Cola Championship fixture at Derby County was worse than originally thought.

Virtually a permanent fixture in City's starting line-up for the first nine games, Fontaine will almost certainly miss games against Peterborough United, Plymouth Argyle, Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday.

The news comes as a blow to the Robins, who have been beset by injury and illness during the opening two months of the campaign.

Bristol City manager Gary Johnson confirmed: "Liam's injury is worse than we feared. He went for the scan on Monday and it showed up ligament damage. He will be out for a minimum of three weeks and maybe longer."

But fellow defender Jamie McAllister should be fit to face Peterborough when City return to action at the end of the break for international matches.

The Scotland international left-back limped out of Saturday's goalless draw against Newcastle at St James' Park at half-time after receiving a kick on the shin.

Johnson explained: "We were worried that he might have chipped a bone, but it's not as bad as that.

"Jamie will take the rest of this week off while he rehabilitates and then return to training next month. He should be available for the Peterborough game."

Fellow defenders Louis Carey, Lewin Nyatanga and Jamie McCombe have all missed games through a variety of illness and injury and, as a result, Johnson has seldom enjoyed the luxury of fielding an unchanged side.

He said: "That's why we had to abandon playing three at the back last month.

"We wanted to stick with it, but didn't have three fully-fit centre-halves at any one time.

"Fortunately, as one has gone down with injury or illness, another has come back in, so we've just about been able to cover the absences.

"But it's affected our shape and made it difficult to keep a settled defence."

Johnson welcomed the two-week international break and said: "It will give us the chance to get most of the lads back to full fitness and match sharpness. The more people we have available for selection by the time we play Peterborough, the better."

Strikers David Clarkson and John Akinde proved they have now recovered from a viral infection and ankle injury respectively when playing a full 90 minutes in yesterday's 3-1 reserve team victory over Blue Square Premier Salisbury City at Ashton Gate.

Gavin Williams and Ivan Sproule also lasted the entire game, while Danny Haynes played for an hour.

"That's what reserve games are for," added Johnson. "They are useful, because they show us who is ready to come back into the first-team squad and who is still not ready."