WALES defender Sam Ricketts is expected to be sidelined for up to six weeks after sustaining a broken cheekbone. It means the 24-year-old Hull City player is almost certain to miss Wales' Euro 2008 double-header early next month. The 24-year-old suffered the injury during extra time of Hull City's Carling Cup win over Hartlepool on Tuesday evening. Ricketts, who has been ever-present for Hull this season since joining from Swansea, is devastaed at the prospect of being forced to miss Wales' European Championship qualifiers against Slovakia and Cyprus on October 7 and 11 respectively. "It would be a massive disappointment to miss those two games, where we'll be looking to get two wins," Ricketts said. "I've got to have an operation to pull the bone back in my cheekbone. "It's just like a dent, really, more than just a straight crack. "I'm not sure where we go from there, whether I'll be able to wear a mask or have to wait for the bone to mend. "I'll find that out in the next few days after talking to a specialist." Ricketts sustained the injury in an aerial challenge in the first period of extra time. "I went up for a header with their centre forward. "He caught me with an elbow in my cheekbone," said Ricketts, who stayed on to finish the match despite his injury. "I haven't seen it on TV so I don't know how accidental it was." | 
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