Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager, may have to abandon his plans to drop Robinho from their game at Arsenal tomrrow after Stephen Ireland suffered an ankle injury in training and did not travel with the squad last night.

Ireland was due to replace Robinho on the left of a three-man attack but was hurt during City's final practice match before travelling to London for their overnight stop.

A protective cast was put on the ankle and City's medical staff will send him for an x-ray to assess whether there is ligament damage. As Ireland is almost certainly out of the match, that could mean a reprieve for Robinho as Hughes does not have any other left-sided attackers.

The City manager had intended to leave out Robinho, having acknowledged that it is "patently obvious" he was not getting the best out of the Brazilian away from home. City have won only once on their travels all season in the Premier League, taking eight points in total.