Aston Villa are crying out for a hero but sadly record signing Darren Bent can not answer their calls.

Manager Alex McLeish asked the prolific striker whether he could take any part in the final two games of the season but the England man had to decline.

The under-fire boss needs a slice of good fortune as his side battles to avoid the dreaded drop to the Championship so he checked on the fitness of the 28-year-old this week.

However Bent had to say no to a possible return against his former club, Tottenham, on Sunday and also rule out any chance of a return in the final game of the season at Norwich.

McLeish said to Bent: ‘Are you ready to go on the bench at the weekend or something?’

“He said: ‘No, not quite, but I’m making good progress, so boss it might be too soon’.

“I don’t believe there’s a chance of him playing again for Villa this season.”

Villa have scored just seven goals in the ten Premier League games since Bent badly damaged his ankle ligaments in the draw at Wigan at the end of February.

But McLeish is not prepared to risk aggravating the injury by rushing the nine-goal leading scorer back ahead of schedule before he is completely ready.

Instead, the striker will target the Euros with Roy Hodgson’s appointment as England boss, ahead of Bent’s nemesis Harry Redknapp, boosting his prospects.

“We have to make sure he gets back good and proper,” said McLeish.

“The doc thinks he’s got a chance for the Euros though, so he’s talking about four or five weeks.

“He’s running, he’s working individually with the physios.

“I’m not sure if he’s at the level of striking a ball yet, but he can’t be far away from that now.

“At the end of the season the physios will still be working on him to get him back to his peak fitness again.

“I’m sure it’s frustrating for him because he’s a very valuable member of the team and as you’ve seen when you lose him you know you’re losing a quality finisher,.

“But I think when you’ve got a long-term injury then it’s easier for people to deal with.

“The worse ones are the wee niggly ones when you’ve got a hamstring and think you’re ready to come back one week and have another wee setback.

“The longer-term injuries then you know you’re going to be out for a certain amount of time and then you can get your head round that.”

Alan Hutton is expected to keep his place in the team against his old club and he’s hoping the Villa Park crowd are fully behind the home side when they run out on Sunday,

The ex-Spurs defender endured an unhappy return to White Hart Lane earlier in the season when he was played in an unfamiliar right midfield role.

Nothing went right for Villa that night but the Scottish international is determined to get the win that will keep Villa in the top flight at the weekend.

“It is just a case of getting the three points,” he said. “In Sunday’s game we just want the fans right behind us. It gives you that lift to have the crowd totally behind you, especially at such a big stadium like Villa Park.

“We hope it’s the case and we put on a good display.”