Merry Christian-mas

Happy Christmas, Aston Villa fans! Your present, after slogging through this roller-coaster of a start to the season? Well, not seeing Christian Benteke til after the new year, of course. The forward, who missed out on the loss at Stoke City, has returned to Belgium for treatment on his knee.

You know, the injury that the majority of the fans were saying he was still nursing? And the club was insisting didn't exist? Yeah, he's seeing the national team doctor about that. But don't worry, because Paul Lambert is still saying it's nothing serious, and Benteke just needs a wee bit of rest and treatment.

On one hand, it's almost a relief to know that Benteke has been playing with a knock. Granted, I'm sure he doesn't feel the same way, but perhaps it goes a little way toward explaining why he hasn't scored in ten games -- and why he's often looked a bit off the pace. Maybe this wee bit of rest could be exactly what he needs.

But on the other hand, if the injury's really only been revived since, say, the Manchester United match, then there may be other issues behind the lack of goals. Whatever the reason, it'll be a few games until we see if it's been resolved: Benteke is set to miss the matches against Crystal Palace, Swansea and Sunderland.

Merry Christian-mas!