MANCHESTER CITY are anxiously trying to ascertain the seriousness of Samir Nasri’s condition after learning that their new €27 million signing has broken a bone in his hand.

Nasri suffered the injury while on international duty with France, although it is unclear at this point precisely what happened. The former Arsenal player was introduced as a 75th-minute substitute in the 0-0 draw in Romania and finished the match with no apparent problems.

The early reports are of it possibly being a broken finger but City will know more when Nasri reports back to the club.

Nasri made his City debut in the 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane two weekends ago but the concern for his new club is he will be unable to make his first appearance at Eastlands against Wigan Athletic on Saturday.

The Professional Footballers’ Association in England wants to force clubs to place black candidates on shortlists for managerial vacancies as it seeks to redress an imbalance that has resulted in only two black managers in the Premier and Football Leagues.

The PFA is in preliminary consultation with Cyrus Mehri, the civil rights lawyer who in 2003 implemented the “Rooney Rule” in the US that requires NFL teams to interview minority candidates for head-coach roles. Last season the two Super Bowl teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers, had black coaches.

Birmingham City’s Chris Hughton and Charlton Athletic’s Chris Powell are the only black managers in league football. Gordon Taylor, the PFA chief executive, said: “In football terms, we are the most cosmopolitan country in the world. . . However, the PFA spends a lot of money training players for the future and, understandably, one of the most obvious areas of interest is coaching and management.

“For some reason the number of black people who actually get a chance in this area is very small.”