Aston Villa's Stiliyan Petrov ruled out for two months
English Premier League club Aston Villa has been rocked by the news that captain Stiliyan Petrov will be out of action for at least two months.
The midfielder suffered a knee injury in the first half of the 1-0 loss to Sunderland on Saturday, 23 October.
The club’s manager, Gerard Houllier, told Villa’s official website, "We have lost Petrov for maybe at least two months. 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. It was
a very unfortunate accident."
Played in every league game so far
The 31-year-old midfielder has been a prominent fixture of the Villa side this term, having featured in all nine EPL matches so far.
The Bulgaria international has been with the Birmingham-based club for four years, following his £6.5m move from Celtic, where he had played under former Villa boss Martin O’Neill.
While Petrov initially struggled to cope with the rigours of the English Premier League, he has grown to become an important cog in the Villa machine.
Since Houllier stepped into the Villa hot-seat last month, Petrov has impressed his new manager.
The former Liverpool boss said of Petrov, "The captain is not only the leader on the field, he is a leader by example."
Meanwhile, midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker is one of the main candidates to take over the captain’s armband while Petrov is out.
Reo-Coker was named as skipper for the Carling Cup tie against Blackburn Rovers, a game for which Petrov was rested. The former West Ham United man has been handed a greater responsibility under Houllier and is thriving.
"No-one could argue that Reo-Coker has changed and become a different player. I trust him very much and he is doing a good job for the team. The job he is doing, he seems to be blossoming from that."
Tags: