Steve Bruce may be forced to alter his priority in the transfer window from a striker to a central defender after revealing skipper Kenny Cunningham could be out of action for a month with a groin injury.

The former Republic of Ireland skipper had not trained for a fortnight before being pressed into action for Saturday's five-goal demolition of Portsmouth at St Andrews because of Martin Taylor's foot problem.

But Bruce is resigned to the 34-year-old being sidelined for four weeks, which leaves Matthew Upson as his only fit senior centre-back. Bruce had previously earmarked another striker as his number one target in January with Rangers' Peter Lovenkrands and Charlton's Jason Euell among his targets.

But Cunningham's absence - and the possibility of Taylor being ruled out for another two to three weeks - may mean a shift in emphasis before the transfer window closes on January 31st.

Bruce said: "We've got to look at the options. Kenny Cunningham got through Saturday's game remarkably well because he hadn't trained for the best part of two weeks. He has got a very sore groin which could put him out for a good month. Martin Taylor has gone over on his leg, so defensively we are a little bit short as the squad stands at the moment.

"We've got to look at all these options before we dive into the next 10 days. I am not awash with money. I can probably get one or two players and we will look to see what is going to be beneficial to the squad before I dive into the market."

Bruce, meanwhile, is facing competition from Real Betis, Osasuna and Real Zaragoza for Lovenkrands, who has scored 10 goals in his last nine games for Rangers.

Birmingham have agreed a fee of £1.5million with Charlton for Euell but the shortage of funds - and Cunningham's setback - means he is keeping his options open for as long as possible.