Birmingham City's official website have confirmed that forward Diego Fabbrini has suffered a serious knee injury, in the early stages of his loan spell at Spanish second division side Real Oviedo. 

The report says that while it is too early to make a definite diagnosis, it is probable that the Italian midfielder has damaged his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which, if it is the case, is likely to sideline the attacker for a prolonged period of time.

It is a serious blow for the 27-year-old, who only joined the Spanish outfit on loan last week, having failed to impress at St Andrews, having made a 2015 loan spell permanent, when he joined the St Andrew's club in 2016 - the fee was £1.5m, which is the most that the Blues had shelled out for a player in five years, as they counted the cost of financial mismanagement and relegation from the Premier League.

Recruited by Gary Rowett to provide some much-needed creativity to a functional Blues side, Fabbrini has made 28 appearances in all competitions for Birmingham, failing to find the net once, and only laying on one assist for a team-mate, failing to justify the relatively hefty fee the former Burton Albion manager had paid for him.

Therefore, the loan move to the Segunda could have been just what was needed to reignite the Italian's career, but his pre-season preparations have been cut short, and his hopes of regular game time have been dashed by an injury which is notoriously difficult to recover from.

The Verdict: 

Fabbrini's form in his first spell at St Andrew's, and during his subsequent loan spell with then promotion-chasers Middlesbrough shows that he can be a valuable asset in the second tier.

However, his second, and permanent spell at the club never really got going, with the Italian looking increasingly lightweight and ill-suited to the style of play implemented at St Andrew's.

It is a shame that Fabbrini's career has taken such a dramatic setback, and it can be a long road back to full fitness for a player who looked low on confidence at times last season anyway.

Birmingham City fans - can Fabbrini make a recovery and return to play a part at your club? Let us know below...