December 2 2004

Crystal Palace

NICOLA VENTOLA has been ruled out for six weeks with a suspected broken ankle.

The 26-year-old signed on a season's loan from Serie A's Inter Milan in August and has only made two sub appearances.

He had only just recovered from a knee injury this week that kept him out for much of the season, but suffered a further blow when he fell awkwardly on his ankle in training.

Boss Iain Dowie said: "He may have a spiral fracture of his tibia. It might be four to six weeks. It's a massive blow to the lad. We all feel for him because he's desperate to be a part of it.

"He even pulled me up afterwards to say he was terribly sorry because that's the sort of lad he is. He's in a plaster at the moment and he's out of the loop for a long time."

Dowie said Ivan Kaviedes does have a future at Selhurst Park, despite a lack of first-team opportunities.

"He's not adapted as quickly as we would have liked but that's the risk you take," he said.

"But his fitness is improving and we'll see how he goes. We hope to get him a reserve game next week and get him where we think he can be."