Manchester City star Samir Nasri needed almost 100 stitches after suffering freak injury

Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri has revealed he needed nearly 100 stitches in the thigh muscle that has kept him on the sidelines since October. The 28-year-old Frenchman initially feared his season had been ended when he suffered a thigh and tendon injury during training.

However, he has now revealed he hopes to return to first-team action in March. "The original estimate by the doctors was that I'd be out for between four to six months and the surgeon told me the same, but I've already done two months and I'm targeting the international break in March to be back properly with the squad," he told the Manchester Evening News.

"With this injury I had to have an operation that resulted in nearly 100 stitches in my thigh. My surgeon told me this was a rare injury as the muscle had detached from the bone and the tendon was also 90% detached and had to be stitched back together, so it was something that doesn't happen very often."

Nasri had only just returned to training with Manchester City when the freak injury occurred. The French international can still vividly remember the painful experience.

"We had a session after the October international break and everything was going well. Then, right at the end I played a one-two with Fernando and the ball was a little bit behind me – we were playing two-touch – and I had the ball ready to shoot but I could see Aleks (Kolarov) coming from behind me," the French star explained.

"I hesitated before I shot and wasn't quite sure what I was going to do. I went for the shot and as soon as I did, I felt my leg going from under me with no challenge and I just screamed as I hit the ball, because the pain was so intense, and I collapsed on the floor."

In Nasri's absence, the midfielder's Manchester City teammates have progressed to the next rounds in all three cup competitions, while they also currently occupy second place in the Premier League, following their 2-2 draw against West Ham United on 23 January.