Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has claimed that injuries to key players like Martin Petrov, Valeri Bojinov and Michael Johnson are part of the reason why The Citizens are struggling so far this season in the Premier League.

Hughes has come across several difficulties in his debut season in charge at Eastlands, with the club positioned just two points clear of the relegation zone after 20 matches.

Hughes insists that long-term injuries to players like Petrov, Bojinov and Johnson have seriously affected his plans for the 2008/09 season, where so much is expected of the side after the takeover by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan in September 2008, making them one of the wealthiest clubs in the world.

The City boss told the club's official website: "To lose the likes of Martin Petrov for such a significant time is a big blow for us, because he would have given us a real attacking threat and a variation to what we've got.

"Obviously, Valeri Bojinov was doing well in pre-season and we were very hopeful that he was going to have a real impact this year, but he's been unavailable.

"Michael Johnson as well has played very few games and he's another quality player that's been unavailable to us.

"We know that we would have won more games with those players available, but they haven't been and we have to accept that they're not available at this moment in time and the players that are available have to perform."