Aston Villa forward Christian Benteke out for 6 weeks with hip injury

Aston Villa have been hit by the news that Christian Benteke will be out for up to six weeks as a result of the hip injury he suffered at the weekend.

Benteke sustained the injury in the win against Norwich on Saturday and at the time it was feared he was facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

While the damage is not as bad, manager Paul Lambert has confirmed that the striker will be missing for up to six weeks.

“It is not as bad as we feared it was going to be,” said Lambert. “Maybe four, five, six weeks or so.”

“The medical people give you the best and worst case scenario, You are never quite sure until you hear from the professor.

“Thankfully it is not too serious.

“It has got a lot better and he is feeling a lot better and the international break certainly helps us.”