Gunnar Halle could be out of action until December after tests revealed a hairline fracture on his injured foot.

Bradford City's Norwegian defender underwent a routine scan yesterday which showed the injury he suffered at West Ham on Saturday was more serious than the club originally thought.

And now City fear Halle could be ruled out of their plans for six to eight weeks.

They will be hoping that Ian Nolan recovers from his hamstring tear in time to replace Halle for next week's visit to Manchester City.

Halle was hurt when he took a blow on the foot from West Ham striker Frederic Kanoute, but X-rays showed nothing was broken.

It was only when he went for a second check that the full extent of the injury became clear.

Halle said: "It's an extra pain now that I had managed to win a regular place again and felt that I was really on form."

Bantams boss Chris Hutchings said: "The X-ray was no problem but when Gunnar had the scan it revealed a slight hairline fracture.

"We hoped he'd only be out for a couple of weeks. But having let it settle down for a couple of days before looking again, you could see the problem.

"I know injuries happen at every club but it has been all at once with us.

"We'll have to battle on and hope that over the next week or so one or two of our injuries will start to come through."