Villa suffer Petrov blow

Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov faces two months on the sidelines with a knee injury.

The Bulgarian midfielder sustained the problem in the first half of Saturday's defeat at Sunderland and had to come off five minutes before half-time.

And boss Gerard Houllier has confirmed the injury is serious enough to keep the 31-year-old out for upto eight weeks, with a scan planned later this week to determine whether he needs surgery.

"We have lost Stiliyan Petrov for maybe two months," Houllier told Sky Sports News.

"We will know whether he needs an operation by the middle of the week.

"It's a shame because he was getting back to a good level."