Veteran defender Roland Nilsson says he will play for Coventry City again just 24 hours after thinking he had been sent to prison.

The Swedish international fractured two ribs and suffered a punctured lung in the match against Arsenal on Saturday. But when he woke up in hospital under the influence of painkillers, he thought he was in prison.

Coventry’s manager Gordon Strachan said:

"He was a bit concerned because there was a fellow in chains in the next bed with two men guarding him. Roland thought he had been sent to prison for his tackle on Emmanuel Petit."

Nilsson received treatment in a London hospital before being transferred to the Midlands on Monday.

Strachan said:

"He is confident he will be playing again before the end of the season. The speculation his career with us is over is very premature. I have visited Roland in hospital and he is very comfortable."

"He was a bit shaken by the journey between hospitals but he is looking a lot better now.

"I want him to get back playing for us, not for any reasons of my own, but for our fans to wish him farewell. They have been watching a truly world class player here for the last two years."

Nilsson, now 35, has decided to leave England when his contract with Coventry expires at the end of the season. He has agreed to join his former club Helsingborg in Sweden, first as a player to help his country qualify for Euro 2000, and then as director of football.

Trevor Peake, now aged 42, has named himself on the substitutes bench for Coventry Reserves against Manchester City Reserves tonight. The first team squad leaves for several days in Scotland and with players injured and the under-17s playing against Southampton this afternoon, there is a shortage for the reserve team.