CITY will today decide on what happens next with James Hanson.

The top scorer was not involved in Sunday’s FA Cup win at Halifax – the seventh game he has missed this season already.

Hanson has been feeling a problem with tightness in his thighs and was given a steroid injection before the weekend after City got permission from the Football Association.

Phil Parkinson hopes that will do the trick but is reserving judgement until he has watched him in training. If he feels that Hanson is still struggling, then the striker will be sent to the National Football Centre at St George’s Park in Burton for intensive medical treatment.

Hanson has not looked right since returning from a torn calf muscle and there remain fears that his current troubles are connected to the injury which affected him at the end of last season.

Parkinson said: “If James is not absolutely full tilt in training then we’re going to send him to St George’s Park.

“We want the proper James back, not the one that has been playing the last couple of weeks but the one we had at the start of the season.

“He’s our top scorer and we want him right. Fortunately for us, Steady (Jon Stead) has stepped up to the plate.

“But we’ve tried everything we can to get James right and he might just need a week away for treatment to get him sorted.”

Hanson netted five goals in the opening month but has not been on the scoresheet since and admitted the frustration is setting in.

He said: “It’s an overall thing from the problem I was having last year and my basic fitness has gone down.

“It didn’t help with the two months out last season. That meant I ended up having four months off.

“So pre-season was just about getting through without any reaction rather than pushing myself. I’m still trying to get there.”