Bulgaria international Stiliyan Petrov will discover today if the hamstring injury which forced him into an early bath against Arsenal at Villa Park on Saturday is likely to be a lasting problem.
The 28-year-old, who has been enjoying a rich vein of form during Villa's last three matches, was hugely disappointed to have to limp off in the first half of the clash with the Premier League leaders.
He had started brightly and could have given Villa the edge with a 40-yard volley but was then replaced by Shaun Maloney after pulling his hamstring.
The injury is even more frustrating for the midfielder as he had suffered a knock on his ankle against Blackburn Rovers in midweek and been a doubt before the game. He managed to shrug that off, however, convincing manager Martin O'Neill and his medical team that he could play a role against Arsene Wenger's side.
Petrov was impressed with the way his team-mates battled in his absence and felt, like them, that Villa deserved a share of the spoils and at least a point at the final whistle.
The midfielder said: "In the first 20 minutes, we did well and perhaps we switched off for the last 20 of that half and that is when Arsenal scored the two goals.
"In the second half, we had some good chances and I think a fair result would have been a draw."
Petrov, who watched the second half from the sidelines, added: "The second half was unbelievable. You don't see many teams put Arsenal under so much pressure and, in the second half, we didn't give them any chance.
"We had chances, we could have taken them, John Carew was unlucky with his header but that's the way football goes.
"If we can put in performances in every game, we can see something better."
Manager Martin O'Neill admitted losing Petrov so early in the game had been a blow. He said: "He is complaining about his hamstring so we will get a scan and we should know what the results are on Monday. It is disappointing because he was getting into it."
