Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill brushed aside his own frustrations at "the one that got away" to spare a thought for his injured striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, whose dreams of joining England this week must now have vanished.

Agbonlahor, aged 21, limped off the field in the 2-1 defeat against Fulham at Craven Cottage with a hamstring strain and must now await medical reports later today to discover the extent of his injury.

Whatever the prognosis, however, it is not only a bitter blow to Villa's tiny squad, but also to England and particularly heart-breaking for the young Birmingham-born player who was elated in mid-week to learn he had made it into new England manager Fabio Capello's plans for Wednesday night's international friendly with Switzerland at Wembley.

O'Neill said: "I am so disappointed for Gabby. He has pulled his hamstring and I hope he can still meet up with the England squad, though he won't be playing.

"Obviously, the medical departments of both sides can get together tomorrow but I hope he can go with the big boys and experience it all. He would not have a prayer of playing for England on Wednesday night, which is a real shame."

The Northern Irishman continued: "He did try for a minute or two to come out before the second half started, but could not do it.

"If anyone deserved a call-up, it was Gabby but he is the first one to agree with me that there is a huge difference between getting into the England squad and the England team. He is bitterly disappointed."

O'Neill, who is also waiting a medical report on Curtis Davies after he suffered a slight knock on his knee, refused to blame the West Bromwich Albion loan player for the mistake which led to Jimmy Bullard's free-kick and ultimately the winning goal.

He said: "Curtis had a massive boost himself this week being involved in Mr Capello's 30 players. I am delighted he got the call-up after coming in and playing just six games for us, but he would be the first to say he still has plenty to do."

He continued: "Having five of our team called up by Fabio Capello was a massive boost, so I wouldn't change my mind on that. Getting a call-up for an England squad of 30 however is totally different from getting established as an international player."

Commenting on the game and Villa's woeful performance, O'Neill said: "We didn't play particularly well and it was a real non-event for us. The conditions were difficult there was a swirling wind and the pitch was very lively; however, there is no excuse.

"I accept Fulham as the home team had to come and play, but it is our style to come to matches like this and try to win. We never got going in the first half and even when we took the lead, it is debatable whether either side had done enough to get in front.

"It was an own goal and I would obviously have taken it but we didn't defend well enough a moment or two later and we were hit.

"We had enough chances. We were playing for fourth place today, although you would not have thought it on that performance."