Aston Villa's Stiliyan Petrov out for three months
English Premier League club Aston Villa have been rocked by the news that Stiliyan Petrov will be out of action for three months, longer than had previously been estimated.
The Bulgarian international picked up a knee injury in the match against Sunderland on 23 October. It was initially believed he would be on the sidelines for around two months, but he will be forced to sit in the stands even longer.
He told his club’s official website that: “I'm bitterly disappointed not to be involved. I feel OK, but the knee injury I picked up against Sunderland means I will be out for about three months.
"It was one of those things and you have just got to accept that sometimes these things happen in football. It is the first time I have been out for such a lengthy period since I suffered a broken leg when playing for Celtic 10 years ago.
'We have been playing well recently'
"But I have every confidence in the boys to go out there and perform to the best of their ability. The team have been working really hard under the new manager [Gerard Houllier] and we have been playing well recently.
"We've been creating a lot of chances too so hopefully we can start putting a few more of them away. But it will take time and that is something that every team needs under a new manager."
Petrov, 31, has been with Villa for four years, since he followed Martin O’Neill from Scottish Premier League giants Celtic for a fee of £6.5m. Though he initially struggled to fit in at the Birmingham-based side, he has gone on to become one of the most important
players at the club.
He featured in all nine of their EPL games this term before sustaining a partial medial knee ligament tear at the Stadium of Light.
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