Birmingham City striker Obafemi Martins ruled out for rest of the season with stress fracture

Obafemi Martins makes his debut for Birmingham City against Stoke City (Getty Images)

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Birmingham City forward Obafemi Martins has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on Thursday to repair a stress fracture.

The former Inter striker, who is on loan at Birmingham from Rubin Kazan, has not played for the club since March.

Blues manager Alex McLeish told the club’s official website: “It’s a blow for Oba and very frustrating for him and us, we all wish him a quick recovery.”

The former Rangers boss also explained Martins’ injury-hit spell at the club since arriving on loan in January, adding: “He passed his medical and everything was fine for six weeks, but then it became obvious to us that something wasn’t right.

“The head of our medical department, Dr Ian McGuiness, carried out extensive tests and the stress fracture was diagnosed.”

The Scot was particularly frustrated that the Midlands club have yet to see the best of the Nigerian since his arrival, despite his League Cup-winning goal against Arsenal.

He said: “It’s a shame we haven’t seen Oba at his very best.

“We brought him here in the hope that he could help the team and, of course, we all know what he did in the Carling Cup final.”