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Anxious injury wait for Villa's Bent

Darren Bent lasted just 35 minutes against Norwich City © PA Photos

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Darren Bent will discover in the next 48 hours how long he will be kept out of action with the hamstring injury he suffered in the 4-1 Capital One Cup win at Norwich City.

Bent has been assessed by Aston Villa's medical staff and he is now waiting for the full prognosis on the injury which has handed him a further setback in his attempts to force his way back into Paul Lambert's Premier League plans.

Even if the injury, suffered 35 minutes into his first start since October, is only a grade one tear that is likely to keep him out of action for two to three weeks and he will miss the busy Christmas and New Year programme.

Bent's future at Villa Park remains in doubt, with the club likely to listen to offers for the England striker in the January transfer window as Fulham and Queens Park Rangers monitor the situation.

Villa are understood to be ready to listen to offers of around £12 million for Bent and the return to form of Austria international Andreas Weimann is likely to increase Lambert's resolve to move on Villa's £18 million record signing next month.

Weimann has emerged this season after a slow start to his Villa career and his two goals at Carrow Road, after replacing the injured Bent, were further confirmation of the faith Lambert has in the young striker.

Lambert clearly believes Weimann has all the necessary attributes to be a regular part of his new-look Villa side, saying: "Andi was brilliant. The one thing about him is that he's a natural finisher. His work ethic will always be there too.

"Whether Andi Weimann is getting 'x' amount of money, or whatever, you will always get the same out of him every single game. That's testament to the type of person he is. I left him out to give him a bit of a rest for the last few weeks but I know that he is a natural goalscorer."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.