RYAN Nelsen is facing a spell on the sidelines until after Christmas.

A hamstring injury ruled the central defender out of Saturday's 3-2 victory over West Ham after he felt it tighten late last week.

But manager Mark Hughes reckons it could be a fortnight before the New Zealand skipper is back in action, ruling him out of this Saturday's trip to Fulham..

"He felt tightness but we actually think he's got a little bit of a strain in there," said Hughes.

"He went out on Thursday but wasn't able to train for any length of time, so he'll probably miss a couple of weeks."

Nelsen will face more fitness tests as he tries to speed up his recovery next week, but Andy Todd will return for the trip to Craven Cottage.

A makeshift central defensive pairing of Zurab Khizanishvili and Lucas Neill highlighted Hughes' lack of defensive options as he had to move Steven Reid back to right back.

Delaney may be January target

Aston Villa's Mark Delaney is emerging as a possible target for Blackburn Rovers in the imminent January transfer window.

Sources in the Midlands have revealed the right back has virtually given up hope of being offered an extension to his current contract.

It expires in the summer, but Delaney was hoping to have the situation sorted out before the start of next season.

The fact that Villa haven't even opened discussions with him yet suggests he won't be given a new deal and he is looking to sort out his future next month, rather than being left in limbo next summer.

Delaney, who was a vital member of Hughes' Welsh squad when he was manager of the national side, made his return from a long injury lay-off last night as Villa reserves won 4-0 against West Brom.