DARIUS Vassell is winning his battle to be fit for the start of the season after hobbling out of the Blues' tour to Sweden.

The England striker, the subject of a £1m bid from Turkish side Besiktas earlier in the week, was rushed back to Carrington for treatment on a knee strain.

But he is expected to train this week and feature in the remaining pre-season games so sparking a possible race for his signature especially if, as expected, new boss Sven-Goran Eriksson brings in another hitman.

The Blues have also had to wrap skipper Richard Dunne and fellow defender Nedum Onuoha in cotton wool after they both picked up niggling muscle strains.

Both were left out of the final contest of the mini tour - a 4-0 win over Carlstad - as a precaution along with Scotland international Paul Dickov who was also deemed unfit after bruising his toe badly.

The quartet's absence didn't, however, protect the Swedish minnows from feeling the full force of City's `boot of Italy' as the free-scoring Blues made it three out of three pre-season wins.

New signing Rolando Bianchi and Bernardo Corradi, who have struck up an immediate understanding both on and off the pitch, both took their summer goal spree to three.

And Corradi immediately backed his goal-happy new pal to be a big hit in the Premiership after a big-money switch from Reggina in Serie A.

Important

"He is young, strong and a natural scorer of goals so he has all the characteristics needed to be a success in England," reckoned Corradi. "I am sure he will play a very important part in our season."

Eriksson chose the final game of the mini tour to send out a mix and match side but it still only took the confident Blues five minutes to show their scoring power.

It was Bianchi who provided the pass for Corradi to round the keeper and tap City into a fifth-minute lead.

By way of saying thank-you, the in-form Corradi, who has found the net in each of the three warm-up matches, combined with Stevie Ireland to set up the second midway through the half.

The £9m Bianchi scored with a low drive and that remained the score until the 51st minute when Bianchi again profited from some clever approach play involving Danny Mills and Corradi.

Carlstad had their chance to reduce the deficit in the game's next attack when Micah Richards was adjudged to have handled in the area but Kasper Schmeichel, on as a second-half sub for Joe Hart, pulled off a fine save to show why he is such a wanted man in the Scottish Premier League.

The usual rash of late substitutions followed but the balance of power was never in doubt and it was Marc Laird who drove the fourth home 12 minutes from time after Michael Johnson and Bianchi had been involved in the build-up.

Next up for the Blues at the weekend is a trip to Charleroi in Belgium, then Shrewsbury and Valencia before the big kick-off at West Ham. Meanwhile, Newcastle have confirmed Joey Barton will undergo surgery today on a fractured metatarsal and will be out for six weeks.

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