Journeyman Carl Muggleton, pictured above, today answered City's goalkeeping crisis after both senior stoppers were ruled out for a month.

The 33-year-old was hastily called up on loan from Cheltenham and was going straight into the side for today's home clash with Crystal Palace.

He just beat the deadline for next week's FA Cup tie at Walsall and is likely to play every game in January with both Gary Walsh and Aidan Davison sidelined.

But his 11th-hour arrival meant that winger Matt Etherington has had to return to Spurs two matches early because teams are not allowed to have more than two players on loan at the same time. Lee Sharpe was taking over his left-wing role against the Eagles.

A scan yesterday revealed a slight tear in Walsh's thigh which will take at least three weeks to heal. Davison injured his groin at Coventry and is set to miss a month.

Caretaker manager Steve Smith said: "Gary felt the injury before the game on Boxing Day but thought he could get through it. But we had it in for a scan and that revealed the extent of the injury.

"With Aidan out, that left us down to Jon Worsnop on the bench or Mark Prudhoe if it comes to it.

"We are getting to the bare, bare bones but there's nothing we can do about it."

The Football League refused to give City special dispensation to bring in Muggleton without losing either Etherington or Stephen Caldwell because the Tottenham player was in the second month of his stay.

Goalkeeping coach Prudhoe recommended Muggleton who will make City his 13th club.

The Leicester-born stopper played 150 games for Stoke in seven years as well as 12 with Celtic in a six-month spell north of the border in 1994.

He has also been on loan with Chesterfield, Blackpool, Hartlepool, Stockport, Liverpool, Sheffield United, Rotherham, Mansfield and Cardiff.

Muggleton joined Third Division side Cheltenham on a free from Stoke in the summer. He has played seven games so far this term without recording a clean-sheet, letting in 14 goals.