Welsh international Ben Thatcher has been ruled out of Manchester City's pre-season friendly at Bury tonight after picking up a dead-leg in training.

The 28-year-old summer signing from Leicester missed training yesterday but manager Kevin Keegan is hopeful Thatcher will be fit for Saturday's trip to Doncaster.

While Thatcher misses out, City's other two new recruits - Danny Mills and Belgian keeper Geert de Vlieger - will be part of the City side at Gigg Lane, where Keegan is expected to give most of his squad a run out as they look to bounce back from last season's disappointments.

De Vlieger gets an early chance to impress as England's David James is not being considered, along with Claudio Reyna and Paul Bosvelt, who had extensive international commitments during the summer.

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