Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov has revealed he will be out for longer than initially expected.
Petrov, who suffered a knee injury against Sunderland on 23 October, said he will be out for three months rather than the two previously thought.
"I'm bitterly disappointed not to be involved," the 31-year-old Bulgarian midfielder told Villa's website.
"I feel OK, but the knee injury I picked up against Sunderland means I will be out for about three months."
Petrov cost £6.5m when he followed former Villa manager Martin O'Neill from Celtic to Villa Park in 2006, and has blossomed into one of Villa's key players.
He had played in each of the Midlands club's nine Premier League games this season before suffering a partial medial knee ligament tear 40 minutes into the 1-0 loss at the Stadium of Light.
"It was one of those things and you have just got to accept that sometimes these things happen in football," added Petrov.
"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.
"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."
Villa have had a mixed start to the Premier League season. They are unbeaten from their five home matches but have already lost four times on their travels.
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