Aston Villa will have a massive injury boost for Sunderland match

When Christian Benteke injured his hip before last weekend's FA Cup match against West Bromwich Albion, he forced a tough selection on Tim Sherwood. Though he hasn't been great (or even good) this season, Benteke is still the club's best striker and in his absence the only options to fill that role are Gabby Agbonlahor and Andi Weimann.

Sherwood has revealed, though, that the injury shouldn't keep Benteke sidelined for too long. Though the Belgian is "still feeling" the hip injury, "He'll be in the squad. We'll give him as much time as possible to get him fit." The Birmingham Mail have Sherwood's full quotes, but this is obviously the big news.

Though from the context, I wouldn't be surprised to see Benteke start the match on the bench. Agbonlahor has been much better in his last two matches, but in both he suffered from looking a bit winded in the second half. If he can start and play as he has been lately, then Benteke would make a great sub to bring a bit of added pressure. And after converting a match-winning penalty in the first match against West Brom, Benteke may be ready to finally break out of his dry spell for good.

No word yet as to whether or not the entire back line is still dead, but we'll let you know as soon as we hear.