Wolves keeper Marcus Hahnemann challenges Christian Benitez

Alex McLeish has confirmed that Christian Benitez will definitely miss Blues' Barclays Premier League trip to West Ham tomorrow because of an ankle injury.

The Ecuadorian striker was stretchered off during Blues' 2-1 win against Wolves on Sunday after a crunching challenge from visiting keeper Marcus Hahnemann.

Chucho's absence from the West Ham fixture means that McLeish will be forced to change his starting line up for the first time in 13 league games.

"Chucho is limping a wee bit and is not going to make it for West Ham," said McLeish.

"But it's not serious.

"The doctor thinks at a push he could have been knocking on the door for tomorrow night but we'll see.

"Sometimes these things can improve very quickly and then you hit a little hiatus and it tends to drag on for a couple of weeks.

"Let's hope the doc's diagnosis is right."